


The Water's Edge

by OnyxCrimsonBlur



Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Alternative Universe - Mermaids, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-08-01 17:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16288988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnyxCrimsonBlur/pseuds/OnyxCrimsonBlur
Summary: A prince of a lost empire tries to make it in a foreign world looking for another of his kind. His mission, to bring back the hidden soldier, kill the new king and gain his throne. Yet there lies a temptation at the shore, will he give up the sea and stay on land?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is Crossposted at FF.net. I have finally decided to post it here. Enjoy!  
> I'll also be doing some slight editing from the original posted on FF.net.  
> 30 Chapters is a rough guess of how many there will be once finished. I'm still working on this one and trying to close it off right. 
> 
> VP

XXXXXXxxxx

 

Chapter 1

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

He groaned as his body shook, water dripping off his shifting frame. Most of his life was spent swimming, a long scaled tail where legs were now. He rolled over in the sand, his wet body picking up the gritty particles and dispersing it over his skin as he took big gulps of air. Having lungs took some getting used to. Shifting to his elbows he lolled over to his side and choked up water, each gasp of dry air making his body shudder. Already he missed the sea, the rich cool water shifting about his form while he dined on fish.

 

Grunting, he tried to stand on unsteady legs, his form not yet ready to hold the weight. Without the buoyancy of water, he fell to his knees repeatedly; his naked form stuttering up the beach like a baby giraffe being born. Relief settled in at the sight of a cave nearby, at least he'd be out of the elements while he pondered what to do next. He'd learned about another sent to shore as a last hope for the clan. The prince needed to find him or whatever was left of Vegetasai would be doomed.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

He found humans were extremely careless. A pair of shorts were found just offshore and he scooped them up without hesitation. At least he had some type of clothing to go ashore with. The sun blinded his sensitive eyes, a new world of color different from the blue hues of the sea. He found it extremely off-putting, yet the explosion of different hues amazed him. After a few moments his eyes adjusted and he found himself lost, not to mention he couldn't yet speak. A frown marred his features. How was he to get anything accomplished without speech?

 

He continued walking down the boarded road lined with shops, catching his reflection in the window panes. It was a jarring experience, to say the least. His black hair still stood tall and proud, he figured the gravity would've pushed it flat. He was toned and muscular, and the only key that would set him apart from the humans was covered by the pants he wore. The small fin on his lower back felt strange in this form, yet it was the only piece that wouldn't shift with the rest of himself. The other part was the pendant of Triton that hung around his neck, but the humans wouldn't give the heirloom a passing glance. All around he smelled food, but with no money, he was forced to go back towards the ocean. It was just as well, he didn't know what human food would do to him.

 

XXXXXXxxxxx

 

Bulma sulked under her umbrella, book tossed to the side, and her now ex-boyfriend nowhere to be found. He'd taken off with the waitress from their lunch date. She felt angry, bitter, and the tears she'd shed when he looked at her in surprise made her feel like a sorry waste of space. What did that blonde bitch have that she didn't? She took off her hat and began the process of removing the braids from her long blue hair.

 

So what if she wasn't like other girls, he shouldn't want her to change. She had a great body, beautiful hair and eyes.

 

“ _ **She's more of a lady, B. She actually wants to go out, wear nice clothes. You walk around in overalls all the time working with your dad. You don't wear makeup, you don't dress nice. The only time you really look good is when we go to the beach.”**_

 

It occurred to her then that he just wanted eye-candy. She wouldn't be the doting girlfriend. She wouldn't act stupid just so he could feel superior. Bulma blew out a breath and looked around the beach. It was pretty quiet for a sunny Saturday afternoon. Then again, it was summer and a lot of people were probably vacationing elsewhere. Not that she could blame them.

 

She honestly felt like calling on her old friend Goku. He loved the beach and his sunny mood would always brighten her day, but since he'd married Chi-Chi and they had their first child he'd been around the water less and less. It seemed to make him depressed.

 

Bulma scanned the beach again, looking for anything entertaining when she spotted a well-built man standing waist deep in the water pulling out a huge fish with his bare hands. He looked so at home as another wave crashed into him. He stood still as a statue, seemingly unaffected by the tide. The finely toned man started walking back to the shore with his catch, the green shorts he wore hanging low on his hips as he got a safe distance away from the ocean before plopping down right in the sand.

 

She watched as he brought the fish up to his face and smelled it before pinching his teeth against the top of a scale and sliding his mouth down the side. Bulma was in awe of this strange man, it felt like she was hypnotized by him and could not look away. She watched as he cleaned his catch with only his mouth and hands for tools. Finally, she shook herself free of his mystical hold and stood up. Walking over to him, she looked down at him and tapped him on the shoulder.

 

He jumped to his feet, his eyes wide as he clutched his food to his chest.

 

“I'm not going to steal it.” She smiled. “I just wondered if you were going to cook it first or if you'd like some help.”

 

The man tilted his head to the side with a look of frustration on his face that she couldn't place. The expression was as strange as the flaming style of his hair that never seemed to topple.

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

He looked at this strange human female with a combination of shock and confusion. She was beautiful, lithe with hair the color of the sea. His shoulder was still warm from the touch of her small hand. The prince could barely understand her words, let alone her tone. Her stance and smell was non-threatening, however, so he decided to take a chance and step forward, he needed information and there was only one way he could get it at the moment. She backed up a step and spoke again. Her voice was beautiful even if he couldn't understand her words.

 

He tilted his head again and lifted the pendant from his neck to introduce himself the only way he knew how. The pendant had a knack for knowing the language of the humans.

 

“Vegeta?”

 

He nodded. His name was the only thing he could understand. Growing tired of the strange noises this creature was emitting he moved forward once again and touched his forehead to hers, the motion so quick she couldn't back away. The connection had been formed and he sighed in relief. Finally, her language made sense to him, everything made sense. He saw flashes of her life, her childhood, her parents. The touch was brief, but it helped him more than she knew.

 

“Hello, Bulma.” He spoke with a smirk. Vegeta was delighted that the language barrier was finally broken. Speaking Mer above water was highly undignified and garbled.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Her eyes widened. His voice was low, gravily, sexy. He seemed to come off the pages of a romance novel. The way he said her name caused her to shiver with repressed need. Bulma felt ashamed of herself then. She'd been with Yamcha for over five years and he'd never gave her feelings like this.

 

“Tell me, woman.” He spoke again, his tone carrying a regal flair. “Where might I acquire more fish?”

  
“That depends, do you want it cooked or raw?” What was she doing? It was if she felt compelled to help him, and what was with the weird forehead touch earlier? She also hadn't even told him her name yet! “And how did you know my name?”

 

He just waved the questions aside. “I would like raw fish.”

 

“Well there's a sushi bar down the street.”

 

“I see.” He sighed. “I'm afraid I have no money.”

 

“Did you get robbed?” She found herself asking and then she covered her mouth. “Sorry, it's not my business.”

 

He just shrugged. “All I have to my name are these shorts and the pendant around my neck.”

 

“Well, let's get you fed.” She shrugged. The least she could do for the lost man was feed him if nothing else. This sudden urge to help him felt unnatural, yet not uncomfortable. “Possibly get you some clothes. Some restaurants won't serve you if you don't have a shirt or shoes.”

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Vegeta sniffed in disdain, he hated the itchiness of the shorts. Human clothes, bah. He struggled to keep his senses about him the further away from the ocean they got. This was madness. All he wanted to do was get a meal and start his search for Kakarot. It was going to be a long journey.


	2. Chapter 2

XXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Chapter 2

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Vegeta sighed as she bought him a new outfit. The tank top wasn't so bad and the new shorts seemed to be better than the pair he had found. He attributed it to less sand. Shrugging, he put on the flip-flops and followed her out of the store back on the boardwalk. He'd been on land a total of twelve hours now and he still felt lost. The ocean called to him but the freedom was just out of his reach. If he went back now, he was a dead merman.

 

Vegeta was starting to feel impatient as they kept moving towards the crowds of people. He was hungry, tired, and extremely drained from his transition. All he wanted was to accomplish his mission.

 

“Woman, where is this food you promised me?”

 

“We're almost there, Vegeta.” She kept pulling on his hand, a touch he was regretting as it seemed to strengthen the connection he started with her. This could be problematic. He couldn't form a bond with an air-breather. He'd known others, countless others that shamed themselves with their own insanity. As a prince, he could not fall for the same tricks. It was bad enough one of their own was sent to the shore as an infant just to maintain the species.

 

“Here we are!” She smiled brightly and he felt a tug in his body. “Let's get you fed.”

 

“It's about time.”

 

“Oh hush you.” Her laughter made him ache. “You sure are grumpy when you're hungry.”

 

“Food, woman.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Bulma walked up to the server and ordered a rather large meal and his eyes widened with the portions set before him. “I wasn't sure what you really wanted so I ordered a bit of everything.”

 

Vegeta recognized the food from her memories. Chunks of raw fish prepared with rice and seaweed. It looked peculiar and he hoped it was compatible with his digestion. At this point, he was too hungry to care.

 

He picked up a piece and shoved the entire thing in his mouth. The combination of flavors exploded on his tongue and he had never tasted anything more exquisite in his life. It was better than all the years of eating fish under the ocean. Better than the palace prepared foods of his youth. This was, certainly, food fit for royalty and yet it was made available for the common folk. He had to have more. Plate after plate was presented before him. Salmon, tuna, blowfish and more. Each paired with rice or fruit, sauces either sweet or spicy.

 

As he ate, he watched the blue-haired woman from the corner of his eye. She ate delicately, her chopsticks dunking the sushi in a sweet orange sauce. This woman, Bulma, was becoming quite useful to him. In the span of mere minutes, she'd clothed and fed him. Of course, he knew, that not all humans were as generous as she.

 

“So, Vegeta, what brings you to West City?”

 

“I'm looking for someone.” He sighed, he might as well use her to his advantage. Maybe she's seen Kakarot. “He was my comrade’s son.”

 

“Do you know his name? What he looks like?” She asked.

 

“I do. His name is Kakarot, son of Bardock.”

 

“I don't know anybody by that name. How old was he when he went missing?”

 

Vegeta sighed, the woman's memories were already fuzzy. He'd have to connect with her again if he wanted quick answers. However, he didn't want to accidentally bond with her. “He was a child, no older than four.”

 

Her eyes widened. “Gosh, how old would he be now? At least twenty?”

 

“At least.” He picked up another plate of food and began eating again.

 

“How do you know he's still alive? He's been missing for so long.”

 

“I got a tip that he was wandering around these parts.” _Not to mention I felt him weeks ago. He'd come into his powers. Transitioning at such a young age, he repressed his inner nature._

 

“Hmm, well I hope you find him.” She pulled out a billfold and placed some money on the table. “Well, I need to go now. This should cover your food and a hotel for the night. I hope you also find who stole your things.”

 

He sighed. “No one stole from me.”

 

“Then...”

 

“I am a mere visitor here.” He looked up at her. “You have heard the legends of Merfolk, I assume?”

 

Bulma's eyes widened and he chuckled. “Yes, I am Prince Vegeta of the Merfolk to Vegetasei.”

 

“Now you're pulling my leg.” She laughed. “That's a good one.”

 

“You dare laugh at me?” He growled. “It's bad enough that I'm forced to walk upon the land with you air-breathers, but it's another to be laughed at whilst my kingdom lies in ruin! I come here for Kakarot, from the house of Bardock. You will help me find him, woman!”

 

“Listen here, bud. I won't be ordered around.”

 

“I am royalty. You do as I say!”

 

“No. Not up here you're not.” She poked him in the chest and he growled in agitation. “Vegeta, I don't care where you come from. If you want my help you ask me nicely. Say please! I fed you, I bought you clothes to help you. I don't mind helping someone, but don't question my intelligence.”

 

“You think I lie?” He huffed and grabbed her arm, food forgotten as he dragged her to the back of the restaurant away from prying eyes. Vegeta then pulled up his top and moved the shorts down to his fin line to show her the scaly appendage just above his butt. It flared out with relief as he sighed in comfort.

 

“You have a fin ...”

 

“Yes, insolent woman. I am a merman damnit! One of only a few left, the one I seek was hidden here years ago to carry on our line. My father chose him, himself. I'm here to bring him back to fight for our home.” He turned around and sniffed out a breath.

 

“I still say I should take you to a hospital.”

 

“Still don't believe me?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Humans and their inability to comprehend anything.”

 

“Hey, I'll have you know I'm a genius.”

 

Vegeta grumbled as he stared at the woman. He needed information now and not when she felt like giving it to him. Standing here trading insults and verbal sparring was getting him nowhere. At this rate, he'd never find his charge. “Fuck it.” He then touched his forehead to hers again, sifting through her memories and then he pulled back in shock.

 

“You lied to me.” He clenched his fists in rage. What were the odds that the first human he found knew of the spawn of Bardock?

 

“I did no such thing, I don't know what you're talking about.” She huffed in frustration.

 

“You know Kakarot.” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “He stands tall, proud, yet mated to a human female. She's killing him by keeping him away from the ocean.”

 

She creased her brow as the situation clicked. He couldn't mean ...  “Goku?”

 

“Yes, Kakarot.” He sighed. “I'd recognize that head of hair anywhere. I see he also has a child. Take me to him, it's time he knows his birthright.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

XXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 3

 

XXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxx

 

Bulma's head spun in confusion. She felt like it was time for her to check herself in at the psych ward. Vegeta sat impatiently in the passenger seat of her car as she drove them towards Goku and Chi-Chi's. He seemed stressed and anxious and he seemed to believe his tale. Somehow, Bulma couldn't fathom the implications. The notion that the man that sat next to her was a merman from the tales of old.

 

Legends which stated that they were all birthed from the sea and humans were born from generations of evolution. A group of merfolk decided to leave the water and eventually they populated land until they lost their ability to shift. The ones that still lived in the ocean stayed the same. It was supposed to be a legend. Kids stories that parents told for shock and awe.

 

“Stop thinking so hard woman.” His voice broke her from her scattered thoughts. “It was told as a legend to keep our people safe. There has been a war going on for generations. My species is almost wiped out.”

 

“If you're a merman why do you look human?”

 

“Because we can change forms. It's an adaptation to fleeing our enemies.” He sighed. “Every species has an act of will for self-preservation.”

 

“I suppose so.”

 

“How much further?”

 

“About a half hour.”

 

“Did his woman pick this spot?” He sighed.

 

“Yes, she did.”

 

“Selfish, foolish, woman.”

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Goku looked out at the dirt all around him covered in green grass. The only time he felt at peace was when it rained. He loved Chi-Chi dearly, and their son; but he felt sad. He tried to explain that he wanted to live by the ocean. A need for water that he could not explain. It was one of the reasons why their water bill was so high.

 

Clouds gathered in the distance and he could smell the moisture in the air. Dinner was in the house, sitting on the table; waiting for him to eat but it seemed like anything other than fish disagreed with him. He'd been to the doctors and they couldn't figure out the cause.

 

“Aren't you coming, Goku?” His wife called.

 

“I'm not feeling well.”

 

“Goku, we've been over this. We can't afford property by the ocean.”

 

“I could build it, Chi. Or I could get one of those premade houses from Bulma.” He scratched the back of his head. “I just need to be by the ocean.”

 

“There are no good schools by the ocean front.” She sighed. “Gohan is going to do great things when he gets older.”

 

“He's not going to be in school for another three to four years yet, Chi-Chi.”

 

“Come eat, Goku.” She smiled softly. “I made your favorite.”

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

The water parted as the disfigured figure made his way down towards the bottom of the sea. Remains of an ancient city filled his field of vision. Toppled buildings, algae coated statues. The green/blue seahorse-like creature looked upon the destruction with a sideways grin. He was pleased with his master's work, yet he also knew his time was drawing thin.

 

The prince had escaped his grasp, swimming towards land as fast as his fins could carry him. He hated the merfolk and their ability to be in two worlds at once. Zarbon knew the little prince would be back soon, there was no way he could be above water for too long. Not to mention, his master would be waiting as well. What hope did he have of avoiding his servitude?

 

“You let my little fish go...” His master sighed in mer, the bubbles rising up from his lips in agitation.

 

“No, he escaped me.” Zarbon argued. He looked at the pale scaled skin, the lizard-like arctic creature huffed.

 

“You will get him when he returns to the sea. No one escapes the wrath of Freiza.” His forked tongue licked up the side of his cheek. “He was my prize, my little delight. King Vegeta betrayed me in more ways than one. When he comes back, and he will, you are to bring him to me. Do not play with my toy.”

 

“Yes, your Lordship.” Zarbon bowed. “I will comply.”

 

“I'll send Dordoria to look after you. That seal should be good for something.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta grumbled to himself as he watched the blue-haired female talk animatedly to Kakarot. She was wasting his time, but it seemed like the youngest son of Bardock was already feeling the effects of ocean loss. His body sunk low and his skin became pale and sallow. He needed the ocean and his woman was killing him slowly.

 

“I don't know what's wrong with me, Bulma. The doctors can't figure it out.”

 

“You're dying, Kakarot.” Vegeta spoke up as he shut the car door. “You are not human.”

 

“I told you to wait in the car, Vegeta.”

 

“I haven't the time for this and neither does Kakarot. He needs the ocean, now. Sooner rather than later.” At those words, Goku fell to a knee and started to struggle for breath.

 

“What's happening?”

 

“You've never fully been to the ocean since you were born. You could've survived that way if you'd never transitioned. However, all Merfolk seek the ocean when they come of age. Although you've never transformed, your body recognized the water as your home. Yes, we can survive on land but we need the ocean to maintain ourselves.” He sighed. “Let us get him to water before he dies.”

 

“How long does he have?” Bulma asked as they walked him to her car.

 

Vegeta touched his forehead to the young merman and breathed in a heavy sigh. “A few hours before he goes into shock, a day before he dies. It was lucky that I located him and it seems it was fate that I found him through you.”

 

They took off towards the setting sun, the ocean plain reflecting the glowing hues. The drive felt like it was taking forever, but at least the young male would be saved by his first swim.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Goku felt his body shudder and quake, followed by a heaviness in all his limbs. He was numb, painfully so, and so very cold. Truthfully, he'd always felt strange as a child; like he didn't fit in. especially with vague memories of a family he'd never really known. In all honesty, he'd felt empty since Bulma had introduced him to the sea when he was a young boy. He'd come back every year to enjoy its gentle caress. He hadn't been back since Gohan was born and he couldn't get Chi-Chi to understand.

 

His thoughts were broken by heavy pain in his limbs, pressure, and a sense of motion. Something smooth and wet touched his skin and granted him instant relief. Yet, the victory felt hollow when his body started to shift and change. His feet were gone, body aching as he started to tread water to try and breathe the air.

 

“No, Kakarot, breathe the water.” A distant voice sounded. “Breathe the water, it will not hurt you. Air will suffocate, water with grant your breath.”

 

He gasped, feeling cool liquid fill his nose; a sense of choking and he knew he'd drown yet, something wiggled on his neck. A strange feeling of loss overcame him as he opened his eyes. A wavy surface slightly blurred his vision, a moving picture of the man he'd just met. “Vegeta?”

 

“Don't talk, Kakarot. English isn't well understood underwater when spoken.”

 

He blinked.

 

“Good. Swim for a few hours, get used to your new body; then come back here. Don't worry, you'll be able to find it. Your new self will know how.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

XXXXXXXXXxxxx

 

Chapter 4

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXxxxx

 

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest as he felt the waves lap against his feet. Kakarot had been gone for hours and he was hoping that Freiza's goons hadn't come across him wandering about the ocean. The woman had fallen asleep hours ago on a beach towel, she had decided to stay with him since he knew nothing of the surface world. It irritated him, but he also felt a sense of gratitude that she'd stayed.

 

Finally, he saw the blue fin of his newest addition come towards the shoreline. He'd have to go through the process of helping the younger male shift back to his human form. Being a land-dweller for too long would mean the change would be painful. There was no stopping this.

 

“I see your journey proved refreshing.” He leaned down and touched his hand to Kakarot's head. “Now comes the hard and painful part.”

 

He felt his newest charge's pain as if it were his own. The shifting of bones, the sinking of scales, the writhing agony of an untrained merman. Kakarot shook with tremors and silent screams, water forcefully ejected from his body as his lungs began the task of breathing air. In all the writing, they'd woken the woman who sat at the edge of her towel in abject transfixation.

 

“I...”

 

“If you want to be of use, I suggest you grab something to cover him before he finishes.”

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Bulma rushed to the car grabbing one of the many spare towels she kept in the trunk for her beach visits. If she wasn't a believer before, she most certainly was now. Watching her friend change was a shock to the system and as she handed Vegeta the towel and watched him reorient Goku to the surface she fell forward and blackness swirled about her vision.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Vegeta sighed as he caught the blue-haired woman. Her reaction to actually seeing the process was what he had expected. However, he needed her since he did not know how to operate the device she called a car. The last time he'd been to the surface, they had not existed.

“Blasted woman.” He groaned and pressed his forehead to hers. Her mind was clear, she was just in shock. Vegeta knew he needed to quit doing that or else he'd form a bond with her, but damn it all if he couldn't stop the temptation. When he'd first connected their minds he felt something more, something primal. “She's fine, Kakarot. Just fainted.”

 

“Well, I'm sure it's not every day you find out about merfolk.” Goku sighed and placed a hand on her head. “She'll wake soon, I'm sure.”

 

“Indeed.” Vegeta grumbled. “Do you know how to operate that contraption?”

 

“Yeah, Chi-Chi made me get a license. I've got to get back, she'll be worried I'm sure.”

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxx

 

Bluma opened her eyes and groaned as the smell of tea and fresh bread filled her nose. “Easy Bulma. You gave us quite a scare.”

 

Chi-Chi looked down at her and she smiled softly. “I take it you know?”

 

“Yeah, I had my own incident a little while ago, but Goku was able to wake me.” She smiled. “I guess we'll be moving to the ocean after all. I don't want my husband to die.”

 

“It'll be okay, Chi.” Bulma rubbed a hand over her face. “If you want a capsule house, you can have one until you find what you're looking for.”

 

“Goku wants to build one so it'll be a temporary fix until he can.” Chi-Chi put the tea tray on the table. “Bread?”

 

“Yes, please. I'm pretty hungry.”

 

“I imagined you might be.” She sighed. “Vegeta is strange.”

 

“Well, I imagine he's still trying to get used to land. He is a merman after all.”

 

“So is Goku, but I figure it's because he was raised on the surface.”

 

Bulma just shrugged and buttered her bread.

 

XXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Vegeta sat down at the table as Kakarot's woman piled it high with food. Mostly fish, as she learned about the new diet her mate would need. The prince learned that sushi was easily digestible and the rice didn't bother him in the slightest. This was definitely a win so he could further blend in with society and not worry about having to catch his own meals.

 

“I do hope you're going to move towards the water now?” He questioned as he piled his plate high.

 

“We are.” She sighed.

 

“Good. Your son, most likely, will be part mer. He will transition at the human age of fifteen.” He explained. “The ocean will be his best friend then and I'm hoping that the war will finally be over by then.”

 

“War?” Chi-Chi stuttered. “What war?”

 

“It's the reason I'm here.” He growled. “Freiza, the damn lizard king has taken over Vegetasai. A vast, underwater kingdom, home of all Merfolk. I told my father not to get into that bastards pockets and now the bastion of our people is in ruin.”

 

“What has that got to do with my husband?”

 

“Kakarot was born to the house of Bardock, my father's loyal guards. They are masters of the sea, controllers of the brood. Everything starts out as legends, but this is another one that holds true.”

 

“The brood?” Bulma chimed in.

 

“Yes, a band of eel-like creatures that devour the souls of the wretched. Even I, a prince, cannot wield them. They were charged to one family so their use would not be corrupt. Kakarot was taken to the surface before the last of the house fell. We had to lie in wait for him to grow up.” He eased back in his chair and looked at their firstborn son. “He is a part of the house as well.”

 

“Gohan is not even two yet.” Chi-Chi put her hand up.

 

“He won't be needed at the moment. Young are not permitted in battle.”

 

“Is there nothing else that can be done?”

 

“No. Even I, with my power, was unable to stop the tyrant. My father's trident fell and was claimed by him. Freiza, however, cannot wield it and for this I am grateful. The brood is the force we need to overcome the bounds of this oppression so I can finally claim my own birthright and right the wrongs of the past. My people depend on me, or at least, what's left of them.”

 

He stood then and walked to the boy in the highchair trying to stuff pieces of cut fish into his mouth. Vegeta pressed his forehead to the child and sighed. “He will be the next in line, a strong male.”

 

With those words, he walked outside into the rain.

 


	5. Chapter 5

XXXXXXXxxxx

 

Chapter 5

 

XXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Bulma followed Vegeta outside watching as he stood there letting the rain soak his clothing. He said nothing for a while and she suspected he was just enjoying the water on his flesh since he did come from the ocean after all.

 

“Go inside, Woman.”

 

“Vegeta?”

 

He sighed and turned to face her, his black eyes turning teal for a brief moment before settling back. “You need to get out of the rain.”

 

“I'm fine, I'm worried about you.”

 

He held up his hand. “You shouldn't. I won't get sick, unlike you.”

 

“What will happen when you take Goku back to your kingdom?”

 

“He will aid me in getting the Tritan back. I will assume the throne and hopefully dig the kingdom of the sea out of this forsaken darkness.”

 

“What did Freiza do?”

 

“He has done many things.” Vegeta turned back towards the darkness. “None of which concern you. This information is only for Kakarot. I shouldn't be interacting with you land-dwellers anymore.”

 

XXXXXxxxx

 

Distance. He needed distance. She wasn't his to claim. An air-breather and he a prince. She could not be part of his world and he wouldn't give up his throne just to lay with her. He heard her huff of frustration and growled low in his throat.

 

“Fine, shut me out you jerk.” He felt the heat of her hand on his back as she shoved him. “I won't help you anymore and then see how far you get on land. Goku may have grown up here but he's not the brightest bulb in the box.”

 

“Woman, you try my patience.” He turned around and faced her once more and it turned out to be a mistake. Water beaded off her skin, coated her aqua hair and caused it to curl against her face. If he wouldn't have known better, he would swear she was one of his kind. Vegeta itched to grab her, nuzzle her, protect her. He wondered if this was how all males felt. He took a step closer in spite of himself, instinct warring with reason as he continued his approach and try as he might he couldn't resist her pull anymore.

 

Her breath against his face, the honey and mint from the tea she drank fanning the flames within his soul. He gave in, touched his forehead to hers again and crumbled. This creature, this female, this blasted woman had unmanned him. The way she viewed him in her eyes was like a water blast to his solar plexus.

 

_Vegeta?_

 

Her voice in his mind like a balm to his soul. _We are one, little female_.

 

She gently pushed against him, breaking the connection and he felt lost; dazed. Bulma raised those blue eyes to his teal gaze and gasped. “What did you do?”

 

Vegeta hung his head. “Something I shouldn't have but could not fight. I'm bound to you.”

 

“Why would you do that?” She screeched and backed up.

 

“I'm not human, Bulma.” Her name felt foreign on his tongue and he wished there was a way he could translate it to Mer. “I'm Mer and if there's one thing I've learned over the course of my life is that I cannot deny my instincts.”

 

“What does that have to do with me?”

 

“You are mine as I am yours.” He bowed low, the rain increasing and he gathered her in his arms to warm her chilled body.

 

“I hardly know you, Vegeta.”

 

“Doesn't change the fact that I know you, all of you.”

 

Xxxxxxxxx

 

Freiza glared at Dodoria and continued to scan the water for signs of any Merfolk. It seemed most of them had run after the death of their King and the disappearance of their Prince. He kept the Tritan above the throne where he sat, his tail swinging to and fro as Zarbon massaged some of his fins. The little prince would not live to see the fate of the fallen Vegetesai.

 

XXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxx

 

Bulma hid from Vegeta when they made it back to her home. What could she do? He was adamant about her staying near him and she snuck away the first chance she got. She couldn't believe this at all. Sure, she was single. Yamcha was a big asshole but Vegeta was practically a stranger. A hot stranger, to be sure. His physique rivaled the best bodybuilders on land.

 

A shudder rushed through her body as she imagined them together. The heat, the need. However, that was a thought for another time. He wouldn't live on land with her and she couldn't go into the ocean. How could he bond with her knowing that fact?

 

“Woman, I can hear you thinking.” His voice echoed through the door and she wondered how he found her. She never even showed him where her room was located. “It's the bond, woman. I know where you are at all times.”

 

“Stalker.”

 

“No, that would be a human thing.” He huffed. “Open the door.”

 

“Vegeta ...”

 

“Enough of this foolishness.” She heard the knob snap and the door crashed open. “I'm not patient by any means, woman. I know what you're thinking, what you're feeling. It's ridicules. Yes, I am Mer. A prince, yet I will not deny myself you.”

 

“What about your kingdom?”

 

“Freiza will die. The kingdom will be fixed and I have ways of taking you with me.” He reached behind his neck and undid the clasp of his pendant. “There is so much to the world of Vegetesai that is kept under lock and key. For eons, Mer could choose a human to breed with if that is what the soul needed.”

 

He placed the necklace around her and clasped it behind her neck, the pendant a heavy presence dangling above her breasts. He touched her cheek and growled low in his throat.

 

“What does this mean?”

 

“You are my chosen.” He answered simply.

 

“I ...” He kissed her then, an act he saw through many of her memories and wanted to try for himself. She tasted divine, sweet even, and he couldn't stop himself. It all seemed too fast. This hunger, this drive. He'd come to the surface to get back his kingdom and instead he'd found a mate.

 


	6. Chapter 6

XXXXXXXXXXxxxx

 

Chapter 6

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Vegeta became frustrated. Kakarot was a quick study, but he lacked the necessary skill for water battle. Bulma had taken them to a huge pool on the property. Made it suitable for them to train in. He felt at ease as he swam in his true form. However, at times he felt as if he were in a giant fish tank. The first step was getting Kakarot used to the speed. How to dodge an attack was vital, especially if weapons were involved. Next would be water manipulation.

 

“Swimming may be natural, but that's only the human side. Your Mer body must be trained to unlock your full potential.”

 

“I'd like to take a break, though. We've been at this all morning.”

 

“You're so far behind.” Vegeta pointed at him with a webbed finger. “The more training you get done, the faster we can fix things.”

 

“What about food?”

 

“You may eat when you can successfully dodge a full volley of my attacks without taking a hit.” Vegeta readied himself. “Now, let’s begin.”

 

XXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma watched in fascination as Goku tried to dodge Vegeta’s attacks. They both swam with such fluidity and strength, it just seemed so surreal. She still couldn’t believe that she was bonded to a merman. About an hour ago she pinched herself finding that no, she wasn’t dreaming.

 

She watched as Vegeta produced a type of energy/water ball and throw it. Bulma figured it would be extremely sluggish underwater, but she was surprised to see that it actually moved quite quickly. When it hit the side of the reinforced tank, it sputtered and crackled and Goku’s tail fin was a bit singed, but no worse for wear.

 

“Again!” She heard Vegeta yell and he started charging up more attacks and even spun up a waterspout which she had to duck away from. “Woman, get out of the training arena.”

 

“I was coming to tell you that lunch was ready!” She huffed.

 

“Well, you could’ve used the fancy intercom system you boasted about.” He retorted. “Kakarot will get his meal when he’s finished his training.”

 

“Vegeta, he’s a novice.” She sighed. “Besides, he’ll be no use to you until he’s fed. Trust me when I say this.”

 

“Fine.” Vegeta huffed and pulled himself out of the water. “Come to me.”

 

Bulma looked down at his outstretched hand and shivered a little. The fingers were webbed, the teal fish-like skin dripping wet and she was honestly a little afraid to touch him.

 

“Come, woman. I’m not poison.” He sighed. “You shouldn’t fear me, I chose you.”

 

“It’s still a little strange.”

 

“Is it?” He shrugged while waving his tail fin in the pool while he rested back on his hands. His hair, unweighted by water, stood on end again in its natural style. His tail moved forward and back, the teal and navy coloring shining in the sun leaking in from the sky-light windows above.

 

Goku was already shifted back to human form with a towel wrapped around his waist moving towards the shorts he’d left on the hook. “Food?”

 

“In the house, Goku. Chi-Chi’s in the kitchen with Gohan.” Bulma smiled at her friend before he rushed into the house.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

“He’ll be training again soon. He has much to learn.”

 

“Aren’t you hungry?”

 

“Yes, I am. However, I have more control over myself than he does. Kakarot acts like a simple-minded buffoon.” Vegeta looked up at her again. “Now, come. Sit with me.”

 

She sat down slowly and dunked her feet in the water. “What is it?”

 

“I want you to stop running from me, woman.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I want you, I chose you, and against my better judgment I bound us.”

 

“I didn’t ask you to.” She retorted.

 

“No, I know. Damnit, woman, I didn’t intend for this to happen but it’s done. The war couldn’t be won, I had already been doomed the first time I connected with you. Mer find their mates this way. Sure, it’s been a very long time since a royal has had the need for a land-dweller. The last was before my time.” He slowly shifted back and watched the blush tint her cheeks as she turned from his naked form.

 

“I’ll get you a towel.”

 

“Look at me.”

 

“Vegeta!”

 

“Look at me, Bulma.”

 

Her cheeks were still pink and her eyes met his, the teal slowly fading to black. “Tell me something.”

 

“What?”

 

“Once my kingdom is restored, would you come to the sea with me?”

 

“I don’t know.” He watched her eyes lower. “It’s too soon to say, Vegeta. Just because we’re magically bonded doesn’t mean I love you yet. We hardly know each other and I’m also human.”

 

“I see.” Vegeta looked out at the pool and sighed. “How much time do you need?”

 

“It depends. Relationships take time, they don’t just form. At least, not for humans.”

 

He touched the necklace she still wore, happy she hadn’t removed it. “This will help you come with me when you decide to. Come, I require food.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 7

 

XXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

Freiza sat in the depths of Vegetasai and looked at the broken down buildings. He sniggered in satisfaction as every last one of the Mer were gone. Vegeta would have nothing to come back to. No kingdom to rule, no subjects, just an empty void. If only he could get the tritan to work then he would be supreme ruler of the oceans. Nothing could stop him, not even that spineless whelp.

 

“Come little fish, I dare you.” He cackled into the darkened depths. The sound echoing off the rocks. “Your time has come.”

 

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma awoke to warmth at her side, too warm for her to be sleeping on her own. She turned quickly and almost let out a scream. Vegeta was sleeping next to her on the bed a very deep invasion of her personal space.

 

“Go back to sleep, woman.”

 

“What are you doing in here?” She whisper-screeched.

 

“Well, I was sleeping.” He huffed, annoyed, before rolling onto his back. “Come, sleep.”

 

“Go back to your room.”

 

“I cannot. I need to be near you, or have you forgotten that?” Vegeta pulled her down close to him and put his arm around her. “Sleep. You have nothing to fear.”

 

Bulma sighed knowing that she wouldn’t get him to change his mind. This bond was strange and sometimes it was decidedly uncomfortable. However, he didn’t make her feel bad, just out of sorts. This was still all new to her. Her mind was racing, but her thoughts were broken by his soft snore.

 

“ _How can he sleep at a time like this? I’m so confused and I just want to have some space while I figure this all out.”_

 

“Woman, stop thinking so hard and sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

 

“Fine.”

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxx

 

Goku sat at the table while Chi-Chi cooked for him and gave a bottle to their son. She hummed with a smile as she rolled up the fish in rice and kept an eye on the slowly simmering sauces. Chi-chi was still experimenting with different dishes that wouldn’t make him sick. It seemed that if the fish was cooked it disagreed with him. More than likely because of his background. However, his apatite was the one thing that didn’t change.

 

Just to prove a point, his stomach growled loudly and he chuckled. “Almost done?”

 

“Almost, Goku. You’ve really got to teach your stomach some patience.”

 

“Indeed he does.” Vegeta broke into the conversation. “That will be the next thing on the training docket since we won’t always be near a food source.”

 

“Do we have to?” Goku sighed as a plate of deliciously wrapped sushi was placed in front of him.

 

“Yes, Kakarot we do.” Vegeta growled as Bulma sat next to him with a cup of coffee. “It’s imperative that you learn to control your hunger and not be a slave to it. The enemy won’t care if you’re hungry.”

 

“I care.” He retorted.

 

“Well, I don’t. You can have that meal now, but we will not eat lunch. You’ve got to learn to control your gut.” Vegeta ate his own breakfast and turned to exit the room. “Meet me in the training pool in twenty minutes, no less. Do not be late or we’ll skip dinner too.”

 

Goku just looked up at the older Mer with a shocked expression before turning back to his meal.

 

“Don’t give him extra portions, female. He needs to learn.” Were his parting words before he left the room completely.

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

“Vegeta.” Bulma shouted as she caught up with him. “I thought we were going to talk this morning.”

 

“I will not apologize for last night.” He began. “The bond will not be denied. I know you feel last night was inappropriate, but it was not. Take this as you see fit. However, I will not force myself upon you. That is your choice, I must bond this way. If you need space, you’ll get it while I train Kakarot, but I will return. Always. I need to fulfill the bonds demands. You will soon be able to feel it too. We will spend time together, this is not a demand, but a fact. I must teach you about my people and I want to learn about yours. I need to know what’s changed on the surface. I also want to learn about you. What you need, who you are, what you enjoy. A male never leaves his mate neglected.”

 

“Vegeta … I don’t know what to say.” Bulma sighed.

 

“Your last ‘relationship’ wasn’t fulfilling. I can tell, I could also see in your memories that this weakling did not make you happy.”

 

“No, he didn’t.” She confirmed. “He would rather be off with other women than be with me.”

 

“Regretful that he would treat you this way. A male would be an idiot to deny you the attention you rightly deserve.” Vegeta placed a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his own. “Meet us down in the training chamber. Watch me as I am. Do not fear me.”

 

He then traced her neckline where his jewelry still laid against her skin. It gave him hope that she didn’t reject him, she was just unsure.

 


	8. Chapter 8

XXXxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 8

 

XXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

“Again!” Vegeta growled as Goku was tossed across the pool once more. “Ignore the craving for food and stay focused!”

 

“I’m hungry, damnit!” Goku shouted as he charged the older Mer. Water whipped around his form in his anger before he was caught by his tail and swirled around.

 

“Channel the need into something else! You won’t be allowed to eat in the midst of a battle, Kakarot. You need to focus on the battle and not your gut! You want to be able to eat dinner don’t you?”

 

“You’re not a parent!” Goku charged again. “I need food.”

 

“No, you don’t! You need to fight for your life!” Vegeta charged forward and lashed at him with his tail, the scaled flesh becoming rigid with spines as he spun through the water like an ice skater in perfect circular motions. “Now focus damn you! Defeat me and you can eat!”

 

“That’s not fair!”

 

“It’s more than fair you simpleton!” Vegeta rebutted again as he caught Goku’s heavy fists and headbutted him “Fight me!”

 

“Fuck you!” Goku spun around creating a tornado which caught Vegeta in its updraft. “I want to eat!”

 

Vegeta extended his arm and made the, ‘come get some’ motion with his hand. “Then you’ve got to go through me. Clear your mind and channel your rage.”

 

Goku rushed him again, this time actually connecting a few attacks before Vegeta knocked him back once more.

 

“Good, again.”

 

Goku’s hair frizzed out as he charged up an attack, a land attack he’d once learned from a chi-fighter called Roshi. “Ka-me-ha-me … HAAAAA!”

 

Electricity and water swirled together in a long arching beam. The sideways twister was too much for Vegeta to dodge or block and he quickly dispersed it into the water as it created a tidal wave. His eyes widened as his student treaded water, his eyes an angry flash of gold and indigo.

 

“Where did you learn that attack?”

 

“Master Roshi taught me when I was a boy.”

 

“There may be some hope for you yet.” Vegeta’s face twisted in a crooked smirk. “It was quite similar to my own water blast passed down the royal line. You’ll have to take me to this Roshi one day.”

 

“Can we eat now?” Goku’s stomach let out a loud growl.

 

“Yes, Kakarot, I think that was a good lesson for the day.” He sighed. “Go to your mate and get a decent dinner.”

 

Vegeta watched the young mer change rapidly and run into the house while he did lazy laps around the pool. He was hungry, yes, but he didn’t want to go inside yet. Sometimes he wished he could enjoy a meal out here but he wouldn’t sully the training grounds with the smell of food. They didn’t mix.

 

Just as he rounded on the backside of the large water area, he felt the energy of his chosen coming towards him and he turned to face her.

 

“Are you coming in to eat, Vegeta?”

 

“Yes. I’m sure Kakarot is done making a fool of himself with his loathsome table manners.”

 

“He’s starting in on fourths. Chi can hardly keep up with him.”

 

“Yes, well he’ll learn to control that bottomless gullet of his soon enough.”

 

“I doubt that.” Bulma chuckled and he felt his cheeks turn red at her barb.

 

“Do you question my methods?”

 

“No, not at all. I question Goku’s ability to focus on anything but food until he’s full.” She stated honestly.

 

“Come, sit.” He heaved himself out of the water and watched as she joined him with little hesitation this time. “He irritates me, but I need him. The Bardock family have always been a little on the off side. I could barely stand his brother, Raditz.”

 

“What about their father?”

 

“Bardock was an amazing mer. Excellent combat tactics, respectful of the throne; an air of dignity.” He grumbled as the compliments felt like rocks in his mouth.

 

“Why does it bother you to compliment someone?” She asked as if sensing his mood.

 

“I’m a royal, such things should be beneath me. However, I am also required to recognize merit. My father did not raise a heathen.” He grabbed the shorts behind him and changed back. “Come, let’s eat.”

 

XXXXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma watched Vegeta as he ate. At least he wasn’t like Goku in that regard. Yes, he consumed about the same amount, but it was with the regality of a prince. Nothing spilled, nothing broken, and most certainly no talking with his mouth full.

 

After the meal concluded, they both sat out on the patio with some drinks and she looked at him before asking something on her mind for a few days.

 

“Tell me about Freiza.”

 

He sighed. “Freiza is part of a band of creatures from the Arctic seas. Ice lizards who have been vying for control of Vegetasai for generations.”

 

“Why do they want the kingdom so badly?”

 

“Because it’s the center hub for all of the ocean. Vegetasai controls the trade in several populations to the south of the equator. Most of them are Mer, others are more fish, or even amphibious. Yes, there are even some human contacts. However, we don’t like to be on land more than we have to. Especially, royalty.”

 

“If it weren’t for Goku you wouldn’t be here?”

 

“If it weren’t for Freiza, I’d still be learning the kingdom under my father’s tutelage.” He growled. “The creature made everything go to ruin. The worst part of it was how my father promised him _me_ in turn for a place in the Cold empire. His father would be rolling in his grave if he knew of what transpired. We’ve been fighting the Colds since Freiza took the throne from his father King Cold.”

 

“So he’s a king then?”

 

“No, he’s not.” Vegeta took a sip of his water before continuing. “He was never officially sworn in. No one wanted him to be king of the Cold’s territory. He killed his father to become the ruler. A small portion of the territory sided with him, but it was enough to make his mark. He calls himself Lord Freiza. He was hoping to become King of Vegetasai after he murdered my father. However, only a Vegeta can take the throne.”

 

“Will Goku be allowed to come back after he helps you?”

 

“Yes. He has a mate and a son. I would not keep him from his family.” Vegeta eased himself up out of the chair. “It’s time for bed.”

 

“What about you? What if I asked you to stay on land with me?” Bulma looked into his dark eyes as he turned to her.

 

“I could deny you nothing.” He sighed and looked up at the starry sky. “I must go wherever you are. The bond will not allow us to be separated. It’s the way of the Mer. I remember my grandfather telling me of what his father had gone through loving a human female. That pendant around your neck is so you can follow me. However, I only ask that you not keep me from getting Freiza out of the kingdom.”

 

“I wouldn’t do that, I know how important it is to you.” She answered as she looked down at her feet. “I just don’t think I could give up the shore to be in the ocean.”

 

“I understand and I cannot make you.” He replied. “I also know that Freiza has probably destroyed my home and there is probably nothing I have to go back to, but I must avenge my people.”

 

“If there was a kingdom, who would you leave in charge?”

 

“I could not say.” He looked into her blue eyes and was lost. “It’s something I cannot predict right now.”

 

“Let’s go inside.”

 

“Yes, it’s time for sleep.” He leaned in and kissed her, a human custom he was enjoying immensely. Bulma was definitely dangerous, but as a warrior, he really thrived on it.

 


	9. Chapter 9

XXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 9

 

XXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta thrashed his tail about in agitation as he watched Kakarot practice the scaled spin attack he’d just taught him. How could he entrust this pathetic excuse for a warrior to help him in his task if he couldn’t master a simple attack? Days had passed since he’d began his food training and that was also a hit and a miss. It seemed that he’d only attack at maximum potential when angry. That wouldn’t do.

 

“Again, keep your scales up and the barbs will follow!” He huffed out. “Don’t make me come over there and throttle you!”

 

“This is not as easy as you make it look, Vegeta!”

 

“It is if you would just focus!” He shouted back. “Now, concentrate!”

 

The younger mer only growled in response and twisted his tail up and smacked the water in an angry thrashing motion. He managed to cause a huge wave, but the barbs stayed out and the attack was complete. Vegeta sighed, but he was actually quite proud Kakarot had managed to finally make the attack.

 

“Again.”

 

This continued for several hours. The attack, sparring, and then he would teach him three more. If they were, at least, going to end the tyrants terror on their land they needed to be in top form. Vegeta had already decided that he would stay on land after his mission was complete. From what he’d learned from a secret contact, Vegetasai was lost to the depths and never to return to its former glory. Freiza had taken everything in fits of rage the longer the prince remained absent.

 

All of his people had either fled or had been killed. It was horrible, but at least once he ended the creature’s life, all of the memories could be put to rest. Vegeta turned back to the last of his kind and ended their session for the day. He had a lot to think about and as he dismissed Kakarot, he swam for a few laps before floating on his back and twining his blue tail in the artificial water.

 

Was this all his life was to be now? Swimming in artificial waters with a human mate and no home in the sea? Was the last of his great people gone forever and only he and the buffoon of a mer the last of them all? His restless thoughts were broken by the footsteps of his mate coming to get him for the evening meal. How long he had decided to float out and brood, he did not know. Time was a fickle mistress on the surface. In the sea, it all seemed like one big day or night. There wasn’t much light where he lived anyway.

 

“Vegeta?”

 

“I know, food is ready.”

 

“Well, that’s part of it.” She sat at the pool's edge and dunked her feet in as she did every night. “Goku said you seemed a bit down when he left you here earlier. Is everything okay?”

 

“No, it’s not.” He sighed and stopped floating, facing her in the center of the pool. “I got into contact with one of my spies in Freiza’s court today. I know I shouldn’t have gone towards the ocean, but I needed to know how my people were fairing while I tried the last ditch effort to save my home. It turns out there’s nothing left to go back to.”

 

“I’m ...”

 

“Don’t pity me.” He growled and slapped the water with his tail, the barbs making tinkling noises as they clacked against his scales. “I will kill that monster for destroying our great city, but I will return to you. Since there is nothing left but revenge, I have nothing more to give.”

 

“Vegeta, get a hold of yourself!” Said mer looked up at his mate and swore she looked even more beautiful in her passionate anger. “For days you’ve been a maelstrom of anger and vengefulness. It’s not like you to flop around in self-pity.”

 

“Now see here...”

 

“No. I won’t see anywhere but at the mermaid who’s been pushing my friend through hoops only to say that he’s just going to give up.”

 

“I’m not giving up.”

 

“That’s not the tone that I hear. I was actually starting to like you with your dedicated, ruthless, attitude; but if you’re going to sound like a defeated chump ...”

 

He wouldn’t let her finish as he swam so quickly that he crashed into her. He didn’t even change forms as he lifted himself up to keep from crushing her. His webbed hands coated with tiny suction cups stuck to the floor so he wouldn’t slip on the tiled surface. Her white shirt was soaked through with the salty water of the training pool.

 

She was a vision, everything human, everything air-breather, land-walker. He shouldn’t want her so much, but the smooth skin of her legs wrapped around the slickness of his scales felt divine. Vegeta had never wanted a creature so much in his life. Never had he possessed these urges.

 

What was this need?

 

XXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma had never felt so turned on in her life. Sure, he had the lower body of a fish, but it didn’t feel strange or slimy. He felt smooth, but slick. Soft, wet, powerful like the sea that he hailed from. Passionate, stormy, dangerous, and she couldn’t help but want to drown in him. This was all happening so fast but she couldn’t stop herself.

 

“Vegeta ...” She breathed out softly, afraid to break their embrace and whatever spell that caused him to cradle her so softly, so gently. She didn’t even care that he wasn’t in his human form. She trailed her hands down his back to the top of his lower back where the tail of him started. The scales were smooth to the touch, a bit slick, kind of cool, but not clammy. They were nothing like any fish she’d ever touched.

 

“Bulma...” He answered her before their lips connected and suddenly he was in her head this time. Every memory he’d ever had, every meeting, every talk, every function. Even battles. The last she’d seen before he disconnected them and rolled off of her was the monster Freiza. It had to be him, nothing could’ve prepared her for the pure evil she had seen in one creature.

 

The spell had been broken then, she knew when he picked up his discarded shorts and pulled them up his human legs. No longer did he look like the regal royal prince of the mer. Now he looked like a lost man without a home and only debt of blood would ever do for all of the stains on his soul. So much pain for one person to ever bear.

 

“I never wanted you to see that. I’m sorry.”

 

After those parting words he left and she didn’t see him for a week. Sure, he trained Goku every day but he stayed out of her presence.

 


	10. Chapter 10

XXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Chapter 10

 

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta growled at himself as he realized he was back at square one. It was the same position as 2 weeks previous. He had been avoiding his mate for that long. This bond was happening faster than he thought. The implication of that was not lost on him. All of this seemed impossible to fathom. Vegeta had no one to ask about this.

 

As he aimlessly floated in the training pool he felt his mate cautiously approach the arena. It was high time he stopped running and just faced it head on. In truth, he had been spooked, but now he wanted to embrace everything that was being offered to him. A strong bond meant strong offspring, it meant that the bond was true, it meant that she must have some mer in her background however diluted.

 

“You’re not avoiding me now?” She asked, breaking the silence.

 

“No.” He responded and swam towards her. “I needed to think.”

 

“Look, whatever I said or did...”

 

“It was not you.” Vegeta lifted himself out of the pool and sat next to her, his tail swishing in the clear water next to her sloshing legs. “I wasn’t prepared for the strength of our union. Usually, when a mer takes a human mate the bond takes years to form. It’s not as quick as this.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You weren’t supposed to see my memories or feel my emotions yet.” He looked at her in the light provided by the setting sun. The orange glow combined with the reflected ripples from the water. Vegeta gently ran his fingers across her face before clasping her chin and lifting her gaze to his.

 

“When a mer and a human bond, it’s a process of slowly opening connections. Humans don’t have the same neural pathways open as we do. In the water, language is fleeting and mer is a complicated tongue to learn. We usually communicate through thoughts and bonds forged with our fellow warriors or family members. Bonding is instant, a necessity.”

 

“What does this mean for us then?” Bulma swallowed hard and he heard the gulp of air, felt her nervousness.

 

“It means that eons ago, somewhere in your family tree, a mer came on land and was a part of your lineage.” He explained softly. “It wasn’t recent or you would’ve known the moment you first felt the oceans kiss. You would’ve felt an overwhelming need to always be around the water.”

 

“Like Goku?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, is this a bad thing?”

 

“No. Just unexpected.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and eased back into the pool. “I want you to swim with me.”

 

“Well, you’ll have to wait a second. I’m not dressed for it.”

 

“No one is here, now come.” He held out his hand and waited for her.

 

“Vegeta, I can’t swim in my clothes.” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “And I certainly don’t feel comfortable skinny dipping in front of you.”

 

“We’re mated, Bulma. I’m going to see you naked soon enough.” He shrugged. “I’m naked right now. You’ve seen me naked several times in my human form as well.”

 

“Not intentionally!” She squeaked incredulously.

 

“It matters neither here nor there. The fact is why delay the inevitable?” Vegeta began floating on his back again while he waited. “Now, come here.”

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma rubbed her arm nervously before deciding to take the plunge. He was right, it was inevitable. She just was hoping for a little bit more time before she was naked around him. The only other person that had seen her was Yamcha, but they didn’t get very far. She pulled her top over her head and then unlatched her bra. She heard a small splash of water and looked up to see Vegeta watching her curiously.

 

“Don’t stop on my account.” He smirked before swimming back up to the edge and looking up at her.

 

“Vegeta!”

 

“What?” He leaned back again and put his arms behind his head. “Continue, I still wish to swim with you.”

 

She sighed and unzipped her shorts and pushed both her shorts and underwear down to the floor leaving her naked before him. Bulma turned her face away and felt her cheeks heat with what she figured was a bright red blush.

 

“You are certainly a sight to behold. Now, get in the water.”

 

“I’m ...”

 

“Now’s not the time to be nervous, woman. Come.” He leaned forward as she sat on the edge of the pool and he pulled her into the water. She was sure if it wasn’t heated her teeth would be chattering. Vegeta wrapped his arms around her and started floating on his back again pulling her atop him.

 

It was still a bit strange, but the touch of his mer body opened the bond again. She saw more of his past. Memories of his childhood, his father, his mother. They were interesting, to say the least, and she finally heard his native language. It was strange, yet beautiful.

 

“Enough swimming around in my head.” He sighed and brought her lips to his. The rest of the night they floated along the water until she was too pruned up to stay in anymore.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta watched as she stood under the shower spray in their bathroom. She washed the salt from her body, her hair, and then stepped out. He wanted to spend more time in the pool but he understood that she couldn’t do that. Her skin wasn’t the same, she couldn’t feel the need as he did.

 

However, as she stood in front of him naked, wet, and drying her hair with a fluffy pink towel, another hunger started to take its place. He wondered how it would feel to have her.

 


	11. 11 - Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to post the rest of this story in one big chunk because I'm tired of losing it to computer crashes and other issues. I've worked and reworked the final chapters of this story so much that I don't even remember the original chapters that I had worked on since the last time I updated on here. Hopefully, it's all good and you enjoy it.  
> -VP  
> Edit, a reader kindly pointed out that my last post chuck was missing two chapters. It appears that when I pasted, I did it from an incomplete version and for this I apologize. As I said, this fic has gone through so much. Anyway, I've added the two chapters where they're supposed to go. It's my fault for not looking, I was so frustrated about it that I just posted blindly.   
> Anyway, 'here' is the completed sections now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

 

Chapter 11

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma blushed as she looked up to see Vegeta’s gaze upon her. Sure, they’d just been in the pool together but now that he was in his human form again she felt suddenly shy. Everything seemed to be moving very fast. It took her months to finally open up to Yamcha, but with Vegeta it seemed like weeks. She was not ready for what this meant or how it was even going to work.

 

Of course, Goku made it work with Chi-Chi, so she knew it was possible; but if Vegeta actually left her and didn’t come back she knew nothing would ever be the same. Bulma wrapped the towel tighter around herself before walking over to her dresser. She brushed her hair and as she did she tried to gain a little balance and calm herself.

 

“Woman, I feel you thinking.” She heard the springs of her mattress give way and suddenly he was behind her in the mirror, his black eyes flashing teal before resetting. “There is no need to feel this nervous.”

 

“How do you expect me to feel, Vegeta?” Bulma turned around in his arms. “This is going to take some time getting used to.”

 

“Yes, I am aware. However, I will not leave you willingly.” He gently eased her damp hair away from her eyes, pressing his forehead to hers. _“I will always be with you.”_

 

He kissed her then, causing her to shudder, lose focus. Bulma drifted away into bliss as he lifted her in his arms. For such a hard man, he was surprisingly gentle and she let him take her away. She’d never felt like this before. They sunk into the mattress, a tangle of silk sheets and sweaty limbs. He caressed her body, heated her blood, made her feel like the only woman in existence.

 

For those moments, she felt that they would always be together. Vegeta was surprisingly quiet as he gazed upon her with teal eyes, his body slick with perspiration as he picked up the pace between them. As she passed the threshold, her body unable to take anymore, a breathless cry escaping her lips he followed after her, body quaking, and she felt the echo of his mind.

 

Before sleep claimed her she heard him whisper inside her head, “ _We are now one completely...”_

 

XXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta grumbled as he walked on unstable legs to the door. He needed food and a swim to clear his head. Time was running out and Kakarot wasn’t as far along in the training as he’d like him to be. Bulma was now an added complication. He wanted to wait until the battle had been won, Frieza buried beneath the cold ocean depths, Vegetasai a watery grave of respect for the fallen Mer.

 

Those plans were gliding further and further away. Vegeta felt his mate wake and the confusion of him being gone after their night of completing the bond. Staying in their bed meant he was not going to battle. At least, that’s what he believed. Yes, there was a big issue of his home and he wasn’t dead, so the effort still weighed heavy on his shoulders.

 

“Kakarot, the pool in twenty minutes.” He grunted at the younger Mer before he left the kitchen. His earlier quest for food was then forgotten.

 

XXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma sighed as she pushed her aqua curls away from her face. She’d never felt anything like that before. Yes, it was sex. Very hot and steamy sex, but the tone of it wasn’t just bumping and grinding. It was more emotional, more internal, more defined. Another sigh escaped her lips as she got up from the twisted sheets and walked to the bathroom on unsteady legs. She was sore, but a good kind of sore.

 

Flashes of the night before passed in front of her vision, images of Vegeta above her, inside of her. She ached, feeling incomplete, the visions still swirling around behind her closed eyes. Every kiss, every caress of his hands on her heated flesh, every nibble, ever bite. A small groan escaped her, face flushed, before she finally was able to calm herself.

 

She could feel Vegeta and his frustrations, his anger, his need to finish what he started. It helped ground her. There was an underlying determination to fulfill his destiny. Flashes of memories not her own crossed her vision, then. Blood, a cackling screech of laughter, and she screamed before dropping the bottle of soap in her hands.

 

Just as the images were there, they faded away and she was left on her knees in the shower; hands shaking. Thundering footsteps could be heard before the bathroom door sailed off it’s hinges into the other side of the room, breaking the mirror. A wash of black flamed hair settled in her vision before she felt herself being hauled to her feet.

 

“Woman?”

 

“Vegeta?” Her voice quivered as the image passed before her eyes again. White clawed fingers, a purple, long, snake-like tongue licking the blood off of them. A mirthless cackle. Bloody body parts floating in the water, the red stain swirling around her vision.

 

“Damnit … I knew this would happen.” He shut off the water and pulled her into his arms and she felt his emotions as if they were her own. “I didn’t want you to ever see these memories yet.”

 

“What did he do?”

 

“You know he killed my father… “

 

“He ate him, didn’t he?” The memories flashed again, a crack of bone, an arm being passed to a green creature beside him. Visions of laughter and the crunch of teeth through flesh. A severed head floating by, mouth agape, eyes empty, skull cracked open.

 

All Vegeta did was look down at his hands, a look of concentration on his face. The images disappeared, her breathing settled. “I apologize.”

 

“For?”

 

“I wanted to wait, but it seemed the fates had decided.”

 

“You never answered my question.” Bulma looked down at her feet.

 

“Yes.” He got up from the bed and walked out of the room. She didn’t see him the rest of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 12

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma sighed as she ticked another day off of her list. Vegeta had been hiding from her for a week now. He would still come by and train Goku but before she could see him he would already be gone. Where he went to after his sessions was a mystery to her, even though she could feel his emotions, he wouldn't disclose anything else to her no matter how hard she tried to press.

 

Now, she stood out in the rain again. The cool water soothing her exhausted soul. How did this happen? Years ago, if anyone had asked, she would've said she found a nice _human_ man to settle down with and have a couple of kids. However, Vegeta wasn't unwanted, just hard to pin down. A deep pain settled within her chest then, a hollow ache, and then warm arms were around her as the rain drenched them both. The sky seemed to swell and open up to drown them as if it felt their emotional storm.

 

“Where have you been?” She whispered quietly, the rain a steady staccato against the concrete and glass.

 

“I needed some time.” He answered just as softly. “There are things in my past that I am not proud of. Things I regret, and others that I wish would remain buried. When you saw my memories, they were ones I was not prepared to face again. Especially the demise of my father.”

 

“And Goku?”

 

“The buffoon is still not quite ready for battle and the time is growing short. He needs to be able to remember but he just isn't grasping the concept. I wish that I had something that would fully awaken him. He's still more human than Mer and it's frustrating.” He huffed out a breath before she felt her feet leave the ground. They were then inside her room and he was drying her off with a towel. “You're going to catch your death one of these days.”

 

“I've been doing it since I was a child. I haven't got sick then, I won't now.” She shrugged. “Besides, I'm more worried about you.”

 

Her fingers curled around the pendent on her neck, twirling the metal symbol around like a touchstone. It helped her feel grounded in this mess, especially when he decided to take off without telling her.

 

“I can't help that I need space from time to time.” He answered her mental barrage of questions. “I'm not a land-dweller, Bulma, and I never can be one completely. A part of me will always belong to the sea. This ache that you feel is the ocean's call. A call that I cannot answer and the pain is unmatched by anything else. I need to avenge my people so that the oceans are free once more. I need to train Kakarot, he needs to remember his purpose.”

 

“Is there a way that I could help? Something that might jog his memory?”

 

“The only thing that would even remotely come close would be my fathers tritan, but that hovers over the broken throne which Frieza now sits on.”

 

“What about the pendent?”

 

“It is a source of power, yes, but only a small one.” He sighed. “There is no way to amplify it on the scale that needs to be set.”

 

She smiled then and let out a hearty chuckle. “Vegeta, you're talking to a genius here. I'm sure I can whip up something with no problem.”

 

“Woman...”

 

“Seriously, Vegeta, leave it to me.”

 

“I just meant that the magic is Mer, not technology.”

 

“Magic/technology, it doesn't matter. I'm sure I can create a device that harnesses the energy signature and recalibrate it to hold a charge. It doesn't matter about the innate properties, what matters is that the charge be big enough and focused to harness the output. You said your father had a tritan right?”

 

“Correct.”

 

She pulled out a fresh sheet of blueprint paper onto her large desk in the corner of the room and began sketching out some schematics.

 

XXXXxxxx

 

Vegeta watched in fascination as his woman started working on a device to harness the power of the pendent. It was a stretch, to be sure, but this drive he felt from her made a lot more sense now. Yes, he knew she was intelligent. It was one of the more intriguing qualities he loved about her.

 

The blueprint began to take shape and he read her scribbled script, using her fast-working mind to fill in the blanks. She created a tritan shape with a base housing to hold the heirloom with a positive and negative connection. Then, there was a reservoir that he needed to charge with his energy so the device could then recognize the energy signature and begin the charging sequence. She was quite right, she was indeed a genius.

 

“Bear in mind that this is only going to be a prototype. I'll need to test that it can hold a charge before we actually try it out on Goku.”

 

Vegeta rubbed his chin absentmindedly. “When will it be ready for testing?”

 

“Once I collaborate with dad and we figure out the best material to use to hold the energy sources. It might need to be something from your world and if that's the case, well...”

 

“I'll deal with it then, woman. I've evaded the tyrant for a long time before I came on land. I know where he is right now and I know where to go if the need arises.” He pulled her into his embrace. “If you can pull this off you have just given me new hope.”

 

“You can count on me.” She returned his embrace and he felt a warmth within himself filling the gap and helping ease the call for the ocean's embrace. There was a possibility this could work and he was willing to take that chance. It was all he had now.

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Chapter 13

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Goku sighed as he plopped down in bed next to his wife. Vegeta was really putting him through the wringer and some days he didn't know how he was able to keep up with the sour-natured prince. He made the impossible seem possible and sometimes all it took was a moments hesitation on his part before he was, again, shoved back underwater. It was a good thing he couldn't drown.

 

“I hope Bulma gets that invention done soon.” Chi-Chi complained. “She’s been working on it for almost a month now and according to Vegeta time is running out.”

 

“She’s working as fast as she can but Mer is so different than surface. It’s finding a way to combine the two forces that’s giving her trouble.” Goku shrugged. He only partly understood it… Partly. Vegeta had given him a bit of a crash course on what Bulma was trying to do, but most of it flew over his head. Science wasn’t his thing and he wasn’t going to try and pretend it was.

 

“Well, hopefully soon. I just want things to get back to normal around here.”

 

“Me too, Chi. Me too.” He plopped down and fell asleep quickly. He was exhausted.

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

“Woman?” Vegeta questioned as he exited the bathroom, towel in hand, drying his hair.

 

“Sorry, I need a break. I’ll work more tomorrow.”

 

“I’m not worried about that.” He leaned over her and stole a kiss. “I’m sure you’ll have that completed soon.”

 

“Maybe. I just can’t quite figure out what I’m missing.” She shrugged before starting to get ready for bed.

 

Vegeta thought about it for a moment. All of her calculations were correct. The size, dimensions, shape, and materials for the trident were on point. The only problem was finding a suitable conductor for the pendant to fully function in the device. So far, nothing they had tried worked. Not even his energy. It was puzzling. She had concluded that something must be preventing it since the actual housing isn’t made from the parts of his people.

 

He didn’t think that would matter if the proper insulator was found. Then it dawned on him. The one thing they had overlooked this entire time she had been working on it.

 

“Woman, I know what your device lacks.” He smirked.

 

“What? Please tell me because I’m at my wits end trying to figure this out.”

 

“Sea water.” Vegeta gently touched the pendant around her neck. “Mer reside in the sea. It was staring us in the face the whole time. The casing is to the proper dimensions, your calculations are correct, but the casing needs to be restructured inside to house a portion of water.”

 

Bulma’s eyes bulged for a moment before she tossed the covers aside and jumped out of bed. “For fucks sake, why didn’t I think of that before?”

 

“We were both focused on the land where we currently reside.” He shrugged. “It would make sense that a land based contraption would need a land based conductor.”

 

“Well, give me a minute and I’ll fashion something new on the inside.”

 

“Do it tomorrow, woman. Sleep is what’s required now.” Vegeta gently pulled her back towards him. “It will still be there in the morning.”

 

“Fine, fine.” She sighed and collapsed in his embrace. She was quite tired.

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta awoke bright and early and headed for the lab. His mate was already in there tinkering away at the inside of the trident casing. As he approached her she pulled up the welding hood and smiled at him.

 

“How much water do you think we’ll need?”

 

“Right to the point, I see.”

 

“Yes. I want this to work, Vegeta.” She looked down inside the tubing. “So how much?”

 

“No more than a few cups should do it. The pendant has to flow freely inside the water in order to be a proper conductor.”

 

“Do you think the insides need to be insulated first?”

 

He thought for a few moments. “I would say that we should gather something to prevent it from touching the sides. Perhaps some seaweed would do the trick.”

 

“Would that work?”

 

“The pendant has special properties in water, it would keep the plants alive and well inside the device.”

 

“I’ll work it in. I’ve already drawn in a glass tube to fit inside the housing to hold the water on the schematics. I just needed the dimensions to get to work on the final product.”

 

Vegeta studied the blue papers in thought. “That should be long enough, but I believe it needs to be a little wider so the pendant doesn’t tap the edges.”

 

“I can make the glass a bit thinner, the casing will protect it.” She said while she started to clean the inside of the chamber. “When do you want to collect the water?”

 

“Right before you’re ready to put it together. The fresher the water, the better the device will perform.”

 

“Sounds good to me.” Bulma smiled and kissed him swiftly. “Thank you.”

 

“Of course.” He pulled her close and kissed her soundly. “When will you be ready for a trial run?”

 

“Hopefully in a couple days. I’ve got to order the tubing in multiple sizes and thicknesses to see which one will fit better.”

 

“Good. I will continue to train Kakarot until you’re ready for the beginning test.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 14

 

XXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma wiped her brow for the third time in 15 minutes. She was getting a bit frustrated with the tubing and the first two of the four she ordered had already shattered before she could get them completely inserted into the device. The problem was that she couldn’t make the chamber any wider to accommodate the thin glass and it couldn’t stand the pressure. Vegeta had only been by to check on her once and she couldn’t stand his hovering while she was trying to work on this delicate procedure.

 

Her fingers grew numb as she tried a third time, the edges of the metal were the biggest problem, the slight squeak they made on the thin glass as she slowly and gently eased the tube inside the housing. After another five minutes, she had the tube seated within the casing and she could breathe a sigh of relief. She clutched the pendant around her neck and then removed it. She needed to check the fit to make sure that it would actually fit in the small opening she had made.

 

Gently, she eased it inside and found that it was the perfect dimensions. With a smile, she eased it back out just as the doors to her labs opened again and her mate meandered through with a towel over his shoulders to collect the water dripping from his hair.

 

“I see you’ve finally completed the procedure.” He huffed out.

 

“It wasn’t easy.” She grumbled. “I couldn’t modify the existing structure because then everything else would be off balance. You’re lucky I got it on the third try.”

 

“What is it that you humans say? Third time’s the charm?” He chuckled before pulling her close and looking down at her invention. “I take it that you’ll be ready for the water soon?”

 

“In a few hours. I’ve got to make sure that once we put everything inside of it that my sealer will actually work.”

 

He pointed to the mini energy gun next to the device. “This thing?”

 

“Yes, it mimics whatever substance you want to seal and fills in the gaps. It should make a water-tight seal so that when you use the device it won’t spill and you won’t have any backfire either.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Chi-Chi and mom are finishing up dinner.” She offered. “Why don’t you go shower and meet us in the kitchen?”

 

“Very well. You need to eat as well.” He pointed at her stomach with a frown. “You’ve been hungry for hours and it’s been driving me to distraction. Coffee is not a food group.”

 

“I was busy.”

 

“Yes, I know, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect yourself.” He grabbed her hand. “I still need to collect the water, you should come shower with me and we will both go to dinner.”

 

“Fine...” She stuck out her tongue.

 

“Vulgar woman.”

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Goku looked at the spread of food and dug in with gusto. He never had felt as hungry in his entire life as he did at this moment. Vegeta had been putting him through the paces but he just didn’t seem to even gain the disgruntled prince’s approval. Sure, he’d been learning a lot from his reluctant teacher, but the biggest problem he had was that he just had been on land for way too long. At least that’s what he gathered.

 

In all honesty, he really didn’t want to go back to the ocean. Land suited him just fine with the occasional visit to the sea. Yet, he also felt that he needed to help. It was giving him quite the headache the more he thought about it. With a sigh, he watched Chi-Chi feed their son while Bulma and Vegeta talked about the invention she had been working on.

 

If all went well, he hoped that all of this would come to an end that suited them all. His stomach growled again and he decided to shut his brain off, the more he thought the hungrier he became.

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma was extremely nervous, her usual confidence pushed aside to make way for anxiety. Normally she would take pride in her inventions, but this was something she had never done before. Combining technologies was something very, very tedious and she made Vegeta collect a bunch of water so that she could test the seal on the left over tubes she hadn’t used before.

 

Vegeta watched from across the room and it made her even more determined not to mess up. She wanted this to work so badly. Maybe she was being selfish but she hoped that once this war was completely over that Vegeta would stay on land with her. It was a hell of a thing to ask, but she just didn’t think that the water would be for her. True, he did say that he would stay … Yet, what if there were still subjects alive that needed his attention? What would happen to them?

 

“I can feel you thinking, Woman.” Vegeta broke her thoughts. “What troubles you?”

 

She sighed and finished sealing the last test tube. “I feel that I’m being selfish.”

 

“I see. How so?” He prompted.

 

“Well, I know you said that you’d stay but I can’t help but feel that if there are some of your subjects around in the kingdom that you’d stay. I, I don’t know if I could live there.” She put her head down.

 

“Woman, I was told that my people are scattered around the ocean depths. There is no way that the kingdom could survive a blow like this. Frieza has destroyed my home and there’s nothing to go back to. Even if there was, to be honest, I would name a successor and leave. I could deny you nothing, as is the bond.” He sighed. “We discussed this before. Why do you think my decision would change now?”

 

“Just because I’ve given you a new option to defeat the tyrant that took your home.”

 

“Indeed you have, but this doesn’t mean that I will abandon you if you choose to stay here. Your life is here, family, friends. Everything that I had has perished. Tomorrow we test your invention. For tonight, let us rest.”

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Chapter 15

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta lifted the tritan in his hands and felt its power. His woman had created something he never thought possible. A way to hopefully avenge his people and awaken Kakarot. It was strange to hold something like this, a beacon of his soon-to-be former life. He gently sat the tool down next to the training pool and sunk into the water before shifting to his true form. Grasping the handle, the septer automatically began to glow, its bond already forming with the prince.

 

He started out small, a few blasts here and there, a waterspout, and then finally a large wall of water. Tomorrow would be the big test, getting Kakarot to remember his true self and have him as backup in the fight against Frieza. Revenge would finally be at hand and he would no longer be bound to what was quickly becoming an obligation. Soon he would find peace and so would his people. Even if it was just a watery grave from now on. A sigh escaped his lips as he put the weapon down and started to do some laps around the pool to clear his head.

 

Now that he had a distinct plan, his mind was going haywire with the implications. What would happen after he was successful? Would he even be successful? What of Bulma? What of the remainder of the kingdom, if any? Who would be his successor?

 

These were heavy thoughts and the swim that was supposed to be relaxing turned the opposite.

 

“Vegeta?” His woman, he didn’t even notice her arrival he was that lost inside his thoughts.

 

“Woman?”

 

“Dinner is served, are you coming in to eat?”

 

“Come...” He stated and she, thankfully, didn’t question him. She sat on the edge of the pool and he sought her embrace. His wet form seeping into her clothes and she ran her fingers through his hair. He knew his actions betrayed his normal demeanor, yet he felt that if he could be anything other than a rigid prince with anyone, it would be with his mate. Her calming touch was just what he needed in this instance.

 

“We shall dine, but then I want a swim with you.”

 

“Of course.” She smiled and he returned it with a smirk of his own. Yes, he could definitely get used to land dwelling if it was with her.

 

XXXxxx

 

“You are very unlucky that I caught you. Very unlucky indeed.” Frieza screeched at the mer he had snared in his claws. “How long have you been informing the prince? Where is my little fish hiding?”

 

“I’ll never tell.” Said fish wheezed out as the tyrant continued to choke him, covering his gills so he could not breathe. “He will defeat you and all will be right again.”

 

“You’re deluded if you believe your prince can save you. You are of no use to me if you won’t give up anything. It’s a shame, too, Nappa. I had the utmost faith in you to be a great warrior for our cause. Now, you’ll only be an example to those who betray me.” Frieza opened his mighty jaws and bit off the mer’s head in one smooth bite. The water around them started to turn red with the stain of a fresh kill. Laughter echoed in the silent ocean as all bared witness to the savage death.

 

Another mer hid in the shadows watching the gruesome scene unfold knowing he could do nothing. A fist clenched at his side as he slowly swam away from the carnage unable to witness it any longer. It was time to tell their prince the news and hopefully take the tyrant down for good.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Goku smiled as he walked down the hall to the training pool. Vegeta said he had a surprise for him and he hoped that it would be something interesting and fun. They had skipped training yesterday and he caught his fellow mer’s sour mood. Maybe whatever the surprise was would cheer him up. As he approached the pool he saw Vegeta’s trademark hair first before finally seeing his face as he approached.

 

“Get in the water, Kakarot. It’s time to do this.”

 

“Fine, fine. Did you even have breakfast this morning?”

 

“Enough chatter about food. Is that all you think about?” He huffed before lifting the sacred item. “Bulma made this to amplify the last bastion of power my people possess. Hopefully it’ll awaken your lost memories, at least in the mer sense, so that we can finally go to battle. Of course, I’ll have to check with my informant tonight to see where we stand and if we can even get close to the kingdom without being spotted first.

 

“I hope this works too.” Goku sighed. “Maybe it’ll make everything make sense.”

 

Vegeta aimed the tritan at his fellow mer and concentrated. The tip of the spear began to glow a blue color before a beam of light shot out of it and hit him square in the chest. He felt heat, then cold, then nothingness. A vast plain of nothingness and a sensation of floating.

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Vegeta sighed as he pulled Kakarot from the depths of the pool. The idiot was lucky he was a merman or else he would’ve drowned. The last try for their kingdom looked to be a flop. No doubt the pendant would make a fine weapon but not a memory jogger. It was a long-shot anyway. Only the real tritan had that kind of power. All it really did was make Kakarot sleep. Nothing more.

 

Just then the doors opened and his mate came rushing in. She seemed to have less than perfect timing as of late.

 

“How did it go?”

 

“Failure, I’m afraid.” He sighed. “However, it will make a successful weapon in battle.”

 

“Well, at least there’s that.” Bulma sighed as she sat at the edge of the pool. “I’m sorry.”

 

“No need. If not for your sharp mind, I wouldn’t have a weapon in the first place. Yes, my powers are sufficient, but with an amplifier, Frieza will have some trouble taking me down. I will not go softly into the depths.”

 

“Let me know if you need anything else. As for now, I’m going to get some stuff done and I’ll be back to get you for dinner.”

 

“Of course.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXxxxxx

 

Chapter 16

 

XXXXXXXxxxx

 

Raditz treaded water before coming ashore and looking at his prince. His long hair stuck to his back and sides before he pushed it away and coughed up big pools of ocean water. He sighed before beginning to speak. “Nappa has fallen.”

 

“Fuck!” Vegeta bellowed at his fellow mer. “I told him to observe only and report, not get involved.”

 

“The fault was not his own, he was only observing and was discovered by Zarbon.” Raditz stated in defense of his comrade.

 

“What was his fate?”

 

“Eaten by the tyrant in front of all his subjects.” He bowed his head. “An example to betrayers.”

 

“Fuck!” He exclaimed once more and pulled his fellow comrade to his feet. “It’s clear that you’ve been compromised now. You can no longer return to the sea.”

 

“Did you find my brother?” Raditz asked as he pulled on the shorts Vegeta handed him.

 

“Yes, I did. Kakarot sadly has no memory of his former life.” Vegeta stated with a sigh.

 

“It was a gamble father was willing to take. One of us had to live and I don’t have the power to unleash the sacred weapon.” Raditz bowed his head. “What is your will, my Prince?”

 

“We need to regroup and come up with a battle plan that suits this new development. Sure, Kakarot’s memory may be gone, but his power is not. We may have to rely on that to succeed. I also have other developments on the shore that have come to pass.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I have a mate, a human woman. A scientific mind that has created a weapon for me.” He shrugged.

 

“Well, I’ll be damned. The great prince has a heart after all.”

 

Vegeta reared back and punched his friend in the gut. “You take that to the grave with you.”

 

“Of course, sire.” Raditz wheezed with a chuckle.

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxx

 

Bulma grumbled as she looked out at the driveway to see a shiny car pulling up. It was her sister coming for her yearly visit. After she moved out, her family didn’t see much of her. To be honestly, they weren’t always close in the first place. Tights wanted to be a humanitarian instead of a scientist. She was a brilliant mind, but had their mother’s quirky disposition; and the blonde hair to go with it. She’d spent the last year traveling with the Peace Corps handing out food and giving medicine to those less fortunate.

 

“Bulma!” She smiled and hugged her tightly. “It’s been too long!”

 

“A year.”

 

“Where’s ma?”

 

“In the house baking. She’s been preparing for your arrival all week.” Bulma sighed and patted her sister on the shoulder. “You should know it’s always a party when you come home.”

 

“She told me you have a man in your life now.”

 

Bulma blushed and turned her head so that her hair would cover her face. “When did you call?”

 

“Oh, two weeks ago. Mom said you were busy with your man and you’d talk to me when I came in. It’s so great that you have a man, don’t be embarrassed.” Tights pulled her into another hug. “I heard Goku has been staying here too. How’s he been?”

 

“Well, I’ve been doing pretty good.” Goku chuckled as he walked towards them. “Hey Bulma, Vegeta’s here with company.”

 

“Who?”

 

“My brother, apparently. Something’s happened. He said to meet him at the pool.” Goku scratched his head in that confused way.

 

“Sure.” Bulma walked back towards the house hearing the fading conversation between her sister and friend. She really felt that now was a bad time for her sister to be visiting. Also, Goku has a brother?

 

XXXxxxxxxx

 

“Look, Raditz, you’re going to have to get your land legs sooner or later.”

 

“I’ve never been on land, this isn’t easy you know!” Said mer grumbled as he took another few steps. Vegeta shook his head, how he was able to finally get him here was a trial in itself. How come the two sons of Bardock were complete buffoons?

 

“Just keep walking. You’ll get the hang of it.”

 

He looked at the closed door and willed it to open. His woman should’ve already been here. He needed to discuss some things with her and come up with an arrangement for Raditz. He frowned as she finally showed up and he felt that she was distressed. Distraction was not welcome, not now.

 

“Sorry, Vegeta. My sister is in town for her yearly visit.” She sighed and walked up to him.

 

“Sister?” He asked.

 

“Yeah, you have my memories. I’m surprised you never asked.”

 

“Your bond didn’t feel familial, that’s why I pushed it aside.” He explained.

 

“Oh. Well, we never were really all that close. She’s older than me by a lot and, well, she was never interested in science. She’s been with the Peace Corps for years and she comes home once a year to visit the family.”

 

“I see.” Vegeta pushed some hair behind her ear and then pulled her close. “We’ll focus on that later.”

 

“You needed me for something?” She turned to face their new guest.

 

“This is Raditz, first son of Bardock. His position was compromised last evening at the demise of my fellow comrade Nappa.”

 

“Goku said you were his brother?”

 

“Yes, I am.” Raditz answered before bowing. “It is an honor to meet you, Princess of Vegetasai.”

 

“Vegeta?”

 

“You are my mate, of course, you are the Princess of my people. If I were to assume the throne, you would be my queen.” Vegeta sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Raditz, you will be staying at this compound and together we will be re-evaluating the state of affairs regarding the kingdom.”

 

“Of course, sire.”

 

“As for now, we will find you a room and I’m sure dinner will be served soon?” Vegeta turned to his mate.

 

“Yeah, come on. Let’s go.” Bulma smiled before leading them to the main house. Things were about to get interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXxxx

 

Chapter 17

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Tights walked down the hall happily chatting away with Goku while heading towards her old room. She was excited to be in town for a month, her longest stay in five years. Usually she’d pop by for a week and then go back overseas. However, she was feeling more homesick than normal and something told her she just had to stay longer. She ran a hand through her blond hair as she turned the corner to see a tall, tan, muscled man with long black hair walking towards them.

 

Her eyes widened as they met twin pools of endless night set in an angular face. She completely forgot where she was headed and who she was talking to as said person bumped into her back and she lurched forward, only to be caught by said man she just happened to be admiring.

 

“Hey, Raditz!” Goku said from behind her and said man grunted in greeting before looking down at her.

 

“Giving her the tour, little brother?”

 

“Nah, this is Bulma’s sister, Tights. She lives here.”

 

“Ah. The Princess requests your presence in the dining area. Dinner is about to be served.”

 

“Food?” Goku rushed passed them both and they were left looking at the trail of dust he left in his wake.

 

“I see he hasn’t changed much.” Tights chuckled, finally able to break the spell he hand upon her. “Tell Bulma I’ll be down in a minute. I need to change out of my traveling clothes.”

 

“Hnn ...”

 

Tights watched as he walked away and she started trembling. Who was that strange man, and she kind of hoped that he wasn’t Bulma’s.

 

Xxxxxx

 

Raditz leaned against the wall and bonked his head against it. The first day of coming to shore and he finds his mate? _Fuck_. This shouldn’t be happening, and it’s Vegeta’s woman’s sister no less. If she hadn’t touched him, he might’ve been able to ignore it. Yet, he tingled from head to toe. His body awash with desire to just be near her. He wondered if this was how mer felt when finding a mate.

 

A sigh escaped his lips then and he forced himself to move down the hall to the dining area. It was true, the kingdom was in ruin and nothing could be done to revive it, but how could he turn his back on the sea? It had been his home for so long and having a human mate would complicate things. He could never tell Vegeta, and he certainly couldn’t let himself be swayed by the land-dweller’s charms. He was a warrior above all else and he did not want that to change.

 

XXXXXXXxxx

 

Dinner was a quiet affair and Bulma couldn’t be more grateful for that. As she left for her lab, she watched her sister and parents exit the room to talk about her travels. She wasn’t all that interested and was extremely happy that her parents didn’t invite her along for a drink and reminiscing about old times. Sometimes Bulma felt odd around Tights. Scratch that, all the time she felt odd around her.

 

She had come to terms, long ago, that since she was the second child that a few things would be less. No, Bulma didn’t want for anything and she always felt loved, but sometimes she was jealous about how much attention Tights would get over her. Especially when she came up with new calculations, inventions, and other things. When Tights called, it was awkward. Not that she was ignored, it just felt like she didn’t fit.

 

Maybe it was the age difference? Maybe it was the path she chose? It didn’t matter, right now she had a job to do and Vegeta was counting on her. The tritan worked as a weapon but didn’t help Goku with his memory. She felt like a failure but she was dealing with unknown tech. She scratched her head and started thinking of a new design and started sketching up plans in her scrapbook. Then she scratched it out.

 

A thought hit her then. _What if the pendant can be used to regain his memory? Maybe an amplifier from a blood relative would help?_ She started sketching again with that idea in mind and it became her focus for the rest of the night.

 

XXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Vegeta found his mate in her lab early the next day. He shook his head as he lifted her from her leaned position on the desk, hair strewn about, mouth slightly agape as she slumbered on her plan book. He’d seen this one before and remembered this was where she always started ideas for inventions before putting them onto the blue paper for drafts. He eased the book closed after marking her page and lifted her up into his arms to take to their room. He didn’t know when she finally fell asleep, but it appeared that she had been here all night. Vegeta shook his head as he realized that she was avoiding her sister and he knew the feeling all too well.

 

Tarble was a stain on the mer royal family, his father having an affair with a lower-class mer and Tarble was sent into exile after he was discovered. Of course, he never got along with his younger brother in the first place. He was a bit jealous of the attention the swine would get, but it didn’t change the fact that he had to act the part in public, but once he was discovered to be of different parentage, he was never seen again.

 

A soft sigh escaped his woman and he looked down to see her snuggling against his chest and a soft smile settled on his lips before he let it go. A feminine chuckle brought him out of his thoughts as he looked up to see a blonde woman a little older than Bulma stopped in front of him.

 

“She feel asleep in her lab again didn’t she?”

 

“Yes. It seems to be quite a habit of hers.” Vegeta replied as he opened the door to their room.

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to introduce myself properly before. I’m Tights.”

 

“I am aware of who you are.” He stated bluntly as he entered their room and heard the bothersome sibling follow behind. He gently removed Bulma’s lab coat and shoes before settling her into the bed.

 

“I take it that you’re her boyfriend?”

 

Vegeta sighed. “I am her betrothed. My name is Vegeta.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled. “I see you treat her well.”

 

“What is it that you really want?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to walk out of the room to give his woman some peace. He could tell her sister had questions not directed at their relationship.

 

“Who’s the guy that showed up yesterday? I tried to talk to him but he left after dinner.”

 

“That is Kakarot’s brother, Raditz.”

 

“You mean Goku?”

 

“The simpleton’s true name is Kakarot. He was lost to his original family when he was very young. Raditz and I are from his original home.”

 

“Is he available?”

 

“You are just as vulgar as your sister.” He groaned. “He is unattached. I have no desire to know what you do with that knowledge. If Raditz accepts you, good. Whatever. Go away now.”

 

Vegeta walked away without even waiting for a response. _Bah, land women._

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Raditz enjoyed swimming in the indoor pool provided by Bulma and her family. They had been more than accommodating, but he had been having a lot of trouble staying under Tight’s radar. The past few days had been a strain on his resolve and he was going to lose it if she decided to corner him again. Yesterday had almost been his breaking point, especially when she ran her hands down his chest towards his … He shook his head to clear it.

 

It was too late to figure that Vegeta didn’t know now. He just had to focus on the battle at hand, their strategy, trying to finally gain the peace their kingdom needed. Yet, the last meeting had been a total wash out as he remembered the blonde-haired vixen walking towards him with those brown eyes trained on his very soul.

 

“Raditz!” Vegeta bellowed and he turned around to see the prince standing there with a frown. “You will stop this behavior at once! Go to the simpering female and do what must be done. She’s annoying me now with her never-ending questions!”

 

“I have no desire to ...”

 

“Don’t lie to me, least of all yourself. Be a warrior, not a fish. I know what she is to you and if you think you can run away from that, you’re a fool. We’re going to need your full attention if we’re to win this battle on our terms and we’ve already got one brain-dead mer. I don’t need another one.” Vegeta huffed out before leaving the room.

 

“Fuck!” Raditz bellowed to the empty room and flopped his tail fin down into the waters surface. This wasn’t going to end well for him, he knew.

 

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 18

 

XXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Tights smirked as she watched Raditz walk down the hall in a wet pair of bathing shorts and a towel. He was perfection and all she wanted was a little taste. She could never remember ever being so attracted to someone in her life and this was tearing her apart on so many levels. This was new and different and she felt so alive. In the back of her mind she felt a bit bad that she’d been here a week and hadn’t really talked to her family, but this pull, this need, she couldn’t ignore it.

 

“I know you’re following me, woman.” That voice … “I know what you want from me.”

 

“Do you?” She answered, surprised by the breathless pant of her own voice.

 

“Yes, because I want the same thing.” He replied as he turned around and she thought she would pass out from the sight of him. All muscles and rivets of dripping water trailing down his skin disappearing underneath the waistband of those blue shorts.

 

Tights swallowed deeply and heaved out a breath. _What’s happening to me?_

 

He leaned forward and took her hand in his own, electricity shot up her spine and need settled in her lower belly. An ache echoed deep below and she trembled at the heat coming off his skin as he pulled her towards him. His forehead touched hers and she spiraled out of control as some type of connection was opened and she didn’t know where she ended and he began …

 

XXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

Raditz trembled beneath her touch, memories, and emotions. He knew it wasn’t supposed to happen this fast but he couldn’t stop himself. His control was shot to tatters and if this had been any other time the bond would be developed further before he took this leap. He normally prided himself on his control and figured that they would, at least, get to talk about things. What he was, what was happening, how she was completely his now and he would never let her go.

 

Tights moaned, he groaned, and they spiraled together in bliss tumbling about in combined ecstasy before hitting the mattress with a soft thud. He kissed her lips and could never get enough, her hands burned his flesh with the intensity of her passion. He’d never felt an ache like this before.

 

“We should talk first ...” He finally managed to squeak out, his breath coming out in harsh pants.

 

“I don’t want to talk.” She replied, pulling her shirt off and throwing it aside carelessly. Her hands returning to his body and wrapping around his neck to pull him back into a deep kiss.

 

“I must insist.” He tried again as he stilled her hands. “This is going way too fast and I’m thinking that once you know the truth of me and my heritage that you’ll try to break our bond.”

 

She paused in her adore and looked into his eyes, her intentions still clear, and he swallowed hard at the smoldering gaze she settled upon him.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Obviously, you can’t think that your reaction to this situation is normal?” He replied. “I’ve bonded with you, Tights. If we go further, I won’t recover from the loss if you decide to leave me.”

 

“Bonded?”

 

“Yes, I’m not completely human. I’m a mer, an ocean dweller, a merman.” He looked down, not meeting her eyes. He did not want to see the rejection there. “I’m sure you’ve heard the old legends.”

 

He felt her hand underneath his chin and he met her gaze once more, her hand upon his face as she smiled softly. “I think, in the back of my mind, I had a feeling that something was different. Your brother?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Vegeta?”

 

“He is our Prince. The leader of our people, or what remains of them.” He sighed. “You’re taking this awful well.”

 

“Well, I’ve met a few in my travels. I met a hybrid named Jako off the Caribbean coast. He said that his kingdom was in peril and he was in hiding on land.” She smiled. “Now, enough talk. I still want you, Raditz.”

 

He groaned as their lips connected once again, the previous fire reignited as they tumbled in the sheets, clothes removed, skin on skin. Raditz left nothing untouched, unkissed, unworshiped and when the finally connected for the first time, two halves becoming one, he knew that he definitely would never tire of her, or ever let her go.

 

XXXxxxxxx

 

Bulma awoke, Vegeta beside her, and she stretched with a long yawn. The last thing she remembered about the night before was completing her blueprints for the last attempt at getting Goku’s memory back. They were running out of time. Vegeta’s informant said that Frieza would wait no longer. He was mindlessly killing any mer that he could find now. She didn’t want anything else to go awry, and she definitely didn’t want Vegeta to go in blind.

 

“I can feel you thinking, woman.” His voice broke her out of her thoughts and she smiled as she sunk into his embrace. “You can give your mind a break today.”

 

“But, your people.”

 

“They know the risks, they’re all proud warriors. I am not indifferent to their plight, but we agreed that I would go ashore and they would inform me as they could. Frieza will die, that much is certain, and even if Kakarot’s memory doesn’t return we will still do what needs to be done.”

 

“How much longer?”

 

“Two weeks, no more. I will finish this, even if I have to do it alone. The kingdom will finally be at rest, and life will begin anew.” He sighed and brought her in for a kiss. “You don’t need to worry about me, I will be victorious.”

 

“You can’t stop me from worrying, Vegeta.”

 

“I know, but I can only suggest.”

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Frieza finished off another mer even though he wasn’t at all hungry. He passed the parts off to his soldiers and slithered back to the throne. It was getting a bit tiresome to pick them off one by one. He knew the prince was still on the shore, hiding. The little shit was beginning to annoy him. There was no way for him to get ashore, he wasn’t the right species, so he was confined to the waters waiting.

 

He despised waiting, and in his boredom he resulted to maiming, torture, and of course, eating his catches. Yet, as time continued to pass without sign of the royal, his patience was running thin. He would drag the coward under if he had to.

 

“Dodoria, Zarbon.”

 

“Yes, your lordship?” They replied in unison.

 

“Go forth, follow one of the prince’s spies when you find them. The next time they go towards the shallows, drag the prince to me. I will finish him then.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Do not fail me or else you’ll be my next meal. Come back with my prey, or don’t come back at all.”

 

The two swam off into the murky depths, out of his sight, and he continued to seethe in silence. Still waiting on his final battle to claim the kingdom and stain it with the last of the royal line’s blood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXx

 

Chapter 19

 

Xxxxxxxx

 

Goku looked down at the strange pendant and the housing that Bulma was currently building. He scratched his head trying to read the complicated calculations and soon decided to give up. There were metal parts, screws, casings, and other miscellaneous bits and bobs scattered about her workspace. He wondered why she had told him to meet her down here, he didn’t understand science or math. He wasn’t unintelligent, just not a genius either.

 

“What did you need, Bulma?” He finally decided to ask and bring attention to the fact that he had shown up as she had asked.

 

“Oh, Goku. Glad you’re here. I need some of your blood.”

 

“My blood?” He squeaked before trying to turn around and leave. He hated needles, he didn’t want to be here for that.

 

“Yes, Goku. I need your blood if this invention has any chance of working.”

 

“I’m fine without my memories.” Goku responded, still backing up as she came closer. After a few moments, he was stopped by a warm wall behind him and a vice grip on his arm.

 

“Well, this battle isn’t.” The wall spoke and he turned around to see Vegeta behind him and Raditz coming towards his other side. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

 

Goku gulped and started to struggle before being lifted into a bearhug by his brother and being carried over to a medical table.

 

“Just sit him over there, Raditz. Let me get my kit.” Bulma smiled with a chuckle before preparing to get this over with. Goku was such a child when it came to any type of medical tests involving needles.

 

“Are you sure this is going to work, woman?” Vegeta asked as he looked at her documents.

 

“No, I’m not.” She sighed. “It’s basically a hail Mary at this point. I’m working out of my element here, Vegeta, and a very strong maybe is all you’re going to get out of me at this point.”

 

“Then, a very strong maybe will have to do.” He sighed. “I will not fault you if this fails, it may be too late for him to gain his memories back anyway.”

 

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Bulma replied as she wrapped the tourniquet around Goku’s arm. Raditz still had a hold on his brother while Bulma started drawing some blood. Goku was twitching and grumbling but she managed not to tear his vein in the process. “There, you big baby. All done.”

 

“I’m going to go get something to eat.” He raced out of the lab, tumbling about as he went.

 

“I’ll have to phone Chi, he’s going to need a bit of sugar.” She sighed. “He wasn’t even supposed to stand up so fast. I’m surprised he didn’t fall over.”

 

“I’ll go make sure to put him where he needs to go.” Raditz responded before leaving the lab himself.

 

“So, woman, what did you need the blood for?” Vegeta questioned as he watched her continue to assemble the apparatus. It was a diamond shaped pendant chamber that housed the original relic inside a glass tube filled with ocean water. He scratched his head at its design.

 

“It’s a different type of amplifier. Where the tritan amplifies your powers for battle, I’m hoping this will amplify the magic to help regain Goku’s memory. The blood is so that it will focus specifically on him instead of something else.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Now it’s just assembling the pieces and making sure that it’s sealed before testing.”

 

XXXxxxxxxxx

 

Raditz plopped down on the bed with a sigh. He had managed to make sure that his brother made it back to his mate in one piece before getting some rest. His previous night lacked any type of rest, not that he regretted it. Tights was rather energetic in her adoration and he could not turn her down. It was a sight to see and he could not get enough. However, it would do him no good if he were tired before the upcoming battle.

 

He was, in a way, a bit relieved that she wasn’t in the room when he arrived. She had went with her mother to shop and then check in with her father. She had explained to him that she was supposed to only be in town for a month, but now that he was around she decided to cancel her flight and stay. Her father had offered her a position back on the research team and she accepted it just to keep a stable income.

 

She was, definitely, an interesting creature. With a smile, he pulled the blankets over himself but it turned out to be a mistake. The linens smelled of their previous activities and he found that sleep would not come easy. A groan escaped his lips as he remembered how she looked atop him, her face flushed in pleasure, his name escaping her parted lips. She was beautiful in her passion.

 

Finally, he managed to close his eyes and relax just enough to fall into a light doze. He hoped that this battle would finally bring an end to the running and that he would be able to visit the sea whenever he wished. The land may be his home now, but it didn’t stop the longing for the water’s sweet embrace.

 

XXXXxxx

 

Chi-Chi looked at her husband with a sigh. He rolled over on his back and let out a loud snore. She left him to rest before leaving the room to check on Gohan. The boy was growing fast and it scared her just a bit. Before all of this, she thought she had a normal family with normal problems. Her world had been turned upside down in the blink of an eye and it made her a bit angry.

 

She supported what her husband needed, but she hoped that their son didn’t get involved in it. She wanted him to have a normal life, the life a child should have. She wanted him to get a good education, have a family of his own. Chi-Chi looked down at her sleeping child with a small smile on her face and a strong belief that everything would work out in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Chapter 20

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxx

 

Bulma looked down at the completed pendant with a sigh. This was it, the final hope that Goku would remember what he needed to. She shook her head and started to head up the stairs. It wasn’t like her to feel defeated, but this was clearly out of her hands now. Sometimes science and magic were not meant to mix and as optimistic as she was previous, this was a whole new ballgame. It wasn’t about amplification, it was about tampering with the mind. Goku hadn’t had his memories in over 20 years. This could either do nothing, or scramble his brain beyond repair. She had her doubts that his memory would return simply because of how long it had been.

 

In her musing, she looked up to find herself at the door to the bedroom and stepped inside. Vegeta was laying on the bed reading one of the many magazines that lay about their room. She smiled softly at him before deciding to take a bath. It had been a while since she was able to relax and it felt like a much needed activity.

 

“I’m going to take a bath.” She stated before moving to kiss him.

 

“I’ll join you.” He sighed before getting up. “I cannot rest anyhow.”

 

“Tomorrow’s the day.”

 

“Indeed. Whether or not Kakarot retains his memories is irrelevant. The battle will go on and we must be victorious.” He undressed as she turned on the water. “For now, I just require some time with my mate. Come, let us relax.”

 

He eased into the large bath tub and instantly shifted into his true form. His body leaning against the back of the tub as he crooked a finger in her direction. She smiled a lazy smile before joining him and easing against his warm, smooth body. A sigh escaped her as the warm water eased her aching muscles from too many sleepless nights. It was definitely a good idea, she decided, as all the worries drifted away on a heady note of lavender and rose oil.

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Goku was tired, utterly dog tired. He didn’t get hardly any sleep the night before. He knew the risks involved with what was going to happen today. Going into a battle with no memory of the enemies, no understanding, no nothing. It was unsettling and Chi-Chi honestly didn’t make it any better on him at the moment. She supported his choice to help, but she didn’t like it. He understood, to an extent. He was happy with their normal life too, but now normality was only a construct.

 

He reached the end of the stairs towards Bulma’s lab, his entire body on autopilot as he walked through the open door to see Vegeta and Raditz on either side of the blue-haired queen. He rubbed the back of his neck as the awkward silenced stretched on between them all. There was no turning back now and as much as he was uncertain if he wanted what little memories from his past back, the truth was that it might make things easier.

 

“Just sit here, Goku.” She sighed and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. “There will be no pain, you’ll either remember or you won’t.”

 

He swallowed hard as she picked up a necklace from the tray, the pendant attached to it inside a strange looking contraption, before she connected it around his neck and stepped back. Vegeta stepped forward then and placed two fingers on the center of the stone and closed his eyes. He felt energy coming out of his fellow mer before his eyes glossed over and he was taken into darkness.

 

XXXXXxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta sighed as he probed the mind of the second son of Bardock. It appeared to be a void of bleakness after he finished sorting through his ‘human’ life memories. Nothing beyond coming ashore was found. It seemed that time had damaged anything useful. It was an empty void, bleak, unending and the mindscape was crumbling around his feet the longer he stayed. He tried to keep looking for anything of use, but there was nothing but a foggy gray plane of existence.

 

With a huff, he eased out of the area and back towards the ‘human’ side of his mind that was lively, and full of memories. It seemed that this last ditch effort was all for naught. Time had taken its toll on the mind of Kakarot and nothing from his previous life remained. Maybe Bardock did it on purpose so that this son didn’t have to face a fate worse than death.

 

Having enough, Vegeta exited his mind and opened his eyes to the face of his mate and then turned to Raditz as well. “He has no memory of anything before coming ashore. Time has erased any and all knowledge of our culture and people.”

 

“Then the war is lost.” Raditz looked at his feet. “I was not meant to have the power he was to posses. It’s for the second born son alone.”

 

“The war is not lost.” Vegeta growled. “Just because he doesn’t remember the family secret, doesn’t mean we do not have other means. We leave for the kingdom in three days time. Be ready.”

 

“What about Kakarot?”

 

“He’s coming with us, he’s already agreed to fight. We just have to figure out what we’re going to do differently. There is much potential in him even if he’s not completely battle worthy yet. Something is stirring inside of him that needs to be let loose.”

 

“I see.” Raditz looked down at his brothers sleeping frame. “What is it?”

 

“I do not know, but we have little time to dwell on it now.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXxx

 

Chapter 21

 

XXXXXXXXXxxx

 

Bulma looked down at her friend and eased the pendant from around his neck. She had a feeling it had been too long. It was a form of amnesia she suspected. Maybe even induced by his father so that he could have a better life. Either way, the pendant told Vegeta all he needed to know and now she had to work to put it back inside the tritan for battle. At least she knew that piece of tech worked. Three days wasn’t a long time and she didn’t like it that he had already decided to leave so soon.

 

It was inevitable, she suspected, just because that the longer that tyrant is alive the more destruction he would cause. All the family and people her mate had lost would die in vain if he didn’t do something. With a heavy heart she began putting the tritan back together. It helped ease her mind and her stress to work on something.

 

XXXxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Raditz grumbled under his breath as he took the steps up to his room two by two. Now that he was mated he hated the implications of leaving his newly formed bond. Tights was by far the most interesting female he’d ever known, even from his own kind. Sure, being the first son of Bardock, a patron of the royal family, he would’ve had his share of females to choose from. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t have bonded to any of them since his true mate was on the shore.

 

Never did he think this would be the ultimate fate of his people. He hoped that where the others decided to hide would be enough to hopefully rekindle the population. It was a sad tale, indeed.

 

XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Goku sat down at the table while Chi-Chi fed him the evening meal. He had decided that he wanted to stay in tonight instead of join the others. His wife was beside herself, he could tell, but he really didn’t know what else to do. All of a sudden he had been thrown into this life and, in a way, he really just wanted to be left out of it. Yet, he also wanted to help. He felt that he needed to help and it just made his head spin at the implications.

 

The next three days were going to be a long trial for them all, he knew, however it didn’t stop him from trying to enjoy them no matter what the outcome would be.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma looked down at her feet with a sigh. She was glad Vegeta had decided to train for the rest of the night since she had something to deal with on her own. Her concentration on the bond seemed to be holding and she hoped that it held for a little longer. She wished that they would’ve been more careful, but what was done was done. There was no stopping this now, and she let a tear fall down her cheek as the implications of their actions hit home.

 

Four white pieces of long plastic with pink caps sat atop the elegant sink in her bathroom. Four digital windows showed a plus sign on the face of them. Bulma wasn’t ready for this. She had suspected the outcome when her period was a week late, suspected further when she felt tired and out of sorts another week later. Now, with her suspicions confirmed, in three days she would be saying goodbye to the man she loved and he might never return to see the child she had just begun to carry.

 

Feeling numb, she slipped down to the floor in tears. She was tired of being strong, tired of being okay with his decision to go. It wasn’t just about her anymore.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxx

 

Vegeta stumbled through the water, dropping below its surface when he felt an overwhelming torrent of sadness break through the bond. His head ached and his vision swam. _Bulma!_ Something was wrong. He fought the ocean of emotions and quickly muted them so he could focus. What could be causing her such distress? He shifted faster than he ever remembered doing before and rushed the steps two by two towards their room. Most of his journey was a blur and he knew he would probably be yelled at later for the wet footprints he’d left in the designer carpet.

 

He cared not as he pushed open the door to their room to hear great, gasping sobs coming from their shared bathroom. Inside the room his mate sat on the tiled floor weeping, some strange plastic tubes on the sink beside her and he wondered what was going on.

 

“Woman?”

 

“I’m sorry.” She cried openly. “I didn’t mean ...”

 

“You’ve been blocking me?” He growled. “How?”

 

“I don’t know!”

 

“That explains the huge blast of emotions. Don’t ever do it again.” He ordered. “Now, what has you so distraught?”

 

“I’m ...” She struggled, afraid. “I’m pregnant.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 22

 

XXXXXXXXXXxxxx

 

_**Preg-nant … Preg-nant … Preg-nant …** _

 

The word held on, swirled in his mind to the beat of his heart. It was too soon for this. He hated his reaction to this word but he just didn’t know what to do. Vegeta finally decided to go confront the demon of his nightmares, the end of his people, avenge the kingdom … and now this. He felt her sadness as he slowly walked away to gather his thoughts, his mouth frozen, his voice taken from him. He felt her crying through their bond yet felt helpless.

 

He had nothing to offer her in this moment, no solace, no soothing words, just emptiness. If he failed in his mission, his quest, his purpose, then the child would grow up without a father. What madness was this? Why would the Gods permit him a child when he might not live to see it? Fate could be cruel.

 

Footsteps echoed at the entrance to the pool area where he had decided to stay. She had finally decided to follow him and he looked up at her tear-streaked face.

 

“Are you going to come to dinner?” She asked softly.

 

“I’m not hungry.” It was true, his appetite had disappeared completely. He was too distraught with this new development.

 

“Will you, at least, talk to me then? I’m just as upset as you are for the same reasons.” She sighed and took a seat at the edge of the pool.

 

“I thought we were careful.” He looked down at the tile next to her leg.

 

“We were, Vegeta.” She sighed. “Apparently since you’re another species our methods are not as effective. I’ll have to study your DNA to create a better birth control method. I’ll have to tell my sister about it as well. I’m sure she and Raditz have been active as much as we have with the same assumption.”

 

Vegeta sighed softly and finally looked up at his mate. She was tired, bone tired, just as he was. Sleep was fleeting and this new development didn’t make it easier. Two days remained until battle and he felt utterly helpless. In a rare display, he pulled her in close and laid his head in her lap, wrapping his arms around her middle.

 

“I will return.” He vowed.

 

He felt her hand in his hair as she gently scratched his scalp. “You can’t promise that.”

 

“I will do what I please, woman. My word is all I have to give in this moment. I have nothing else of worth except for myself.”

 

“Okay.” She gave a watery smile. “At least eat something. You need to keep your strength up.”

 

“Fine.” He sighed and shifted before getting out of the pool. “Gather me some garments and I will eat.”

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Tights felt depressed when Raditz told her the deadline. They’d barely left the room since then. It’s as if he was just as desperate as she was. A sigh escaped her lips as they descended the stairs for dinner. It was maddening, this ever-present time clock above their heads. A loud countdown to the time they all had to leave. He had a duty to his prince and he took it seriously, but she wished that it would just go away.

 

It was hard to enjoy anything with him knowing that he might not return. She wondered how Bulma and Chi-Chi dealt with this nagging feeling. It was a foreign concept to her, but she was powering through it to the best of her ability. Yet something else felt off as she looked at her sister and Vegeta across the table. She wondered what it could be.

 

XXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma really didn’t eat much at dinner, she didn’t really feel like eating. Most of the meal she pushed some food around her plate, maybe taking a small bite here or there. Vegeta went back down to the training pool and she went to the lab to work on the new birth control method with the blood sample he had given her after dinner. She had to keep herself busy and she had to have hope that he would come back. Nothing about this situation was normal, but she just needed something.

 

The door sprung open and in walked her sister. A soft groan escaped her lips as her sister sat across from her at the work station and said the two words she was dreading to hear.

 

“Spill it.”

 

“Tights ...”

 

“Look, something’s obviously bothering you. I’ve known you long enough to see when something isn’t right.” She began. “So, spill it.”

 

“I’m pregnant.” Bulma let out, giving in. It was important she knew anyway.

 

“What?” Her sister blinked rapidly. “Isn’t that good news?”

 

“Well, under normal circumstances, yes.” Bulma sighed. “But right now, it’s … Complicated.”

 

“Right.”

 

“This involves you too, though. Normal birth control methods don’t seem to be effective so you’ll have to get me a sample of Raditz blood as well so I can create a method for you.”

 

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me right now. I know I’m not pregnant.”

 

“Ah, well it’ll still be good to get a head start on it.” Bulma looked at her sister in earnest.

 

“I get it, B. I do. I’m happy for you as well.”

 

“Thanks.” She smiled softly. “I did want kids, just not so soon and not when my mate is getting ready to go to battle.”

 

“Yeah, that does put a bit of a damper on things.” Tights rubbed her chin. “I’ll get that sample to you later tomorrow. I know working on something takes your mind off of things.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 23

 

XXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Chi-Chi slammed the pan in the sink in frustration. She did a good job of hiding her feelings from her husband and son, but when she was alone she tended to vent her feelings by cleaning. The countdown continued to tick by, an ever-present ticking inside her mind. Goku had seemed desperate in his advances, treating this like it might be their final days and she despised it.

 

Normally, him leaving to do something would be no big deal. Most of their income was him away on their big plots of land. Yet, this felt so different from their lives before. It felt so final, so strained, so wrong. She knew it was selfish, but she really felt that he had no obligation to be in this fight. Here these two strange beings come and tell him he has to be present for their needs.

 

He has no memories, no attachments, yet being the kind soul he is he ropes himself in with them. A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of this battle turning south and her stomach churned with the implications. Gohan without a father, she having to probably move back in with her father and find another means of income to provide for their child. Plus, she had no idea really how to care for him once he came of age. What of Vegeta? What of Bulma and Tights?

 

None of this was fair, or right, or just. None of it at all and she really wondered how long they would be gone once the time finally came.

 

XXXxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Raditz huffed a breath as he watched their prince train his brother. He hated to admit the skill he possessed for never being in the water before these past few months. He learned quickly, even with no memory. He just hoped it was enough to finally take down Freiza.

 

He was a bit jealous of his brother, in a way, just because of how he got to lead a somewhat normal life on the surface and not deal with the day to day running from Frieza’s goons or the ugly mutated beast himself. Life on the surface was so simple, so quiet. He much preferred it and once this was over he definitely didn’t want to go back to the ocean long-term.

 

Especially not since he found Tights.

 

XXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

They stood at the waters edge, the ocean waves lapping at their feet and pulling in sand and shells, and wood before pushing it back. The sun had just started to rise over the horizon painting the sky with the pale colors of dawn. The stars started to recede back behind an opaque sky of pale blue that chased the rainbow swathed clouds bathing the ocean in sunlight. Vegeta looked to either side of himself, the brothers Bardock stood tall as they waded forward into the sea, the open ocean singing its sirens call as the waves tried to push them under.

 

Human facades melted away under the growing tide and mer swam in the place where men once stood. They swam for the kingdom of Vegetasai with one singular purpose. The end of Frieza.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 24

 

XXXxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Freiza lounged against a toppled throne in a broken sand pit where a vast castle of coral once stood. His red eyes cast to the ruins of a broken kingdom. He smiled, his crooked teeth glinting in the soft glow of dawn shimmering through the choppy surface waters. Vegetasai was a lump of rubble and broken dreams beneath his scaly white tail. The mer made it too easy for him and he cackled with delight as he finished his meal of the last of the prince’s informants.

  
Vegeta was coming, he could sense the change in the currents, the will of the ocean as power shifted through it, a call to war. He would gladly oblige the little runt and make a mockery of him before finally ending his pitiful life and who ever else he decided to bring with him. However, his giddy excitement waned as he saw a similar shape approaching from the ruined backdrop. Three warriors, not just one, and the prince with a tritan?

 

Something was very wrong with this picture, very wrong indeed, and before he could make a grab for the real thing behind the broken throne he was pushed aside by a wave of power that had him gasping for breath and grasping for anything to cling to. The prince stood on pointed tail fins shimmering with flecks of gold and twinkling like stars, his hair a mass of teal shimmering with a golden halo. Angry red eyes met his own and he actually felt himself tremble in fear.

 

“ _I have come to end you.”_ The prince’s voice growled out in a deep baritone echo, the mer dialect rolling off his tongue.

 

Frieza looked for his companions, only to find them bruised and broken beneath the other two mer. It was not looking good for him.

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxx

 

Vegeta let his anger control him as they swam for the kingdom. He was angry at the tyrant for taking his kingdom, his father, his subjects. He was angry having to leave, to retreat. He was determined not to let this bastard continue to roll over the graves of so many of his brethren. He was determined to kill him on his own and get back to his mate. He knew Frieza had no army, not anymore. They had all been called back to his brother who had enough of his nonsense.

 

Now was the perfect time to strike. Only Dodoria and Zarbon remained. He was high strung and ready to strike. His body agile and wild all at once.

 

“ _Take care of the trash.”_ He stated to his companions. _“Frieza is mine._ ”

 

His heart hammered in his chest as he swam forward, his thoughts on his mate and child, his heartache, his pain, his anger. He lunged through the water like a shark, dark and predatory. He grasped the created tritan tighter in his fists, power traveling through him like a wave, feeling like electricity humming beneath his flesh.

 

His eyes caught the sight of his tormentor lounging upon a broken throne, his grotesque body leaning languidly in the open, stale waters of where his castle once stood. Vegeta could tolerate this no more. A rush of power flowed through him blasting the creature off the broken throne and he heard his voice echo in a dark, penetrating growl.

 

“ _I have come to end you._ ”

 

“ _Have you, little prince? Come to finally finish me? Don’t make me laugh.”_ Frieza taunted.

 

They circled each other, twisting and turning, scales bristling. Frieza held up their family legacy, the real, true tritan.

 

“ _How do you hope to beat me without this? Do you think your little toy will do the job?”_ He smirked, red eyes glinting. “ _No matter your form, this is the end for you._ ”

 

“ _I think not_.”

  
Tritans clashed in a violent display of sparks knocking back both warriors. He heard blows landing in the distance, knowing that his other two companions were battling as well. It was perfect, just him and this disgusting degenerate. He pushed his hand forward, a wave of water and energy knocking his opponent off balance. Of course, he had to dodge a quick-witted blow, tritans clattering again igniting the water around them.

 

They circled again, tritans locked, a malestrom starting to whirl around them. He smirked, his mind clinking everything into place. Frieza could not survive on land, he was not able to change. He forced the tines of their weapons together, locking them in place and continued to spin them around. The water beveling inwards, swirling like a whirlpool and bowing towards the center point like the eye of a hurricane.

 

“ _What are you doing you horrid little anchovy?”_ Freiza screeched as they continued to swirl around one another. He fought to dislodge the weapon but they were fused now. He tried to let go, but his hands were stuck to the weapon as the prince continued to lock them together in a deadly waltz. The water continued to swirl as they spun, the wall diving deeper and deeper.

 

“ _Dodoria … Zarbon!”_

 

“ _Crying out for your little lackeys? How predictable. They can’t hear you anyway.”_ Vegeta smirked, teeth glittering in the bright circle. “ _The chop is too loud._ ”

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Freiza shivered harder as they started to sink further down as the water was pushed aside. Spinning and spinning, latched and fused as power was leached from him with every rotation. What madness was this? How was this possible, and what was this new transformation that the prince possessed. Bright red eyes pierced his soul as the wall of water continued to grow higher around them, swirling walls showing the sea in clear quality all around them as they seemingly rushed to meet the ocean floor.

 

His eyes widened as he struggled to move his tail and create a counter rotation. Freiza knew that the prince would try to beach him. Without water, he was doomed. What a cheap little trick. His tail tried to buckle under the strain as he pushed against the current. It worked, only briefly, before he felt another hum through his arms, a pulse of power, a crack of electricity burning him as the speed increased once more.

 

“ _Don’t think you can get away so easy._ ” The prince laughed as their eyes connected. _“You made the lethal mistake of locking our weapons together in the first place. Your doom laid out for you like a gilded rug for me to walk upon. Take your death like a warrior._ ”

 

Frieza’s eyes closed as the dry air finally met his flesh, the swirling water echoing around him, and the prince standing above him on two muscled legs. The tritan finally released his hands and he fell to the sea floor with a thump. Vegeta held the true tritan and the other creation. The true weapon then hooked around his neck, the cool surface slitted to either side of his throat, pressing his gills together.

 

The lizard swallowed, red eyes opening as he looked up at the sun. The water still swirled around them, little drops hitting him in the face every now and then.

 

“You don’t deserve a quick death. You deserve to die slowly, painfully. Every gulp of air bringing you ever closer.” Vegeta placed a foot on the back of the tritan, digging it further into the drying sand. “Beg for your life, you scum.”

 

“ _Never_.” He garbled, the mer language turning to hisses and squeaks on his tongue. Red eyes looked down on him as he tried to kick his tail up before it, too, was held down by the other weapon. He gasped, dry air filling him, before he coughed and choked. Teal hair stood on end, webbed fingers held him in his clutches as the prince looked up to see the sky grow dark with black clouds. Lightening flashed over head and as the tyrant took his last breath, his body collapsing in on itself, a huge bolt of lightening came through the tritan and disintegrated the lizard to a pile of ash.

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Chapter 25

 

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Raditz and Goku looked at the prince standing in the center of the malestrom with his head lifted towards the dark sky. His eyes closed, arcs of lightning dancing around him, thunder cracking in the distance. Their prince was home, his body bulked with power as he lifted the true tritan to the heavens in victory. It seemed like Frieza was all bark and no bite.

 

The weapon that Bulma had created shattered, unable to hold the excess power, and the necklace dropped to the sand at Vegeta’s feet. He opened his eyes and turned towards his subjects before bending down to pick up the heirloom and put it around his neck. His face was wan and a bit broken. Even though they had won, it felt like a hollow victory. This sentiment was reflected in the face of their prince. Every single mer that died would never be replaced.

 

The water stopped swirling and collapsed back into the void as Vegeta walked through the swirling wall and shifted back to his mer form.

 

“ _There’s nothing left for us here. It’s time to return to the surface.”_

 

No words were spoken as they swam for the shore. The void in their souls left behind with the watery grave of their once proud people.

 

XXXXXXxxxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma felt a deep sadness as she stood at the threshold of the back door to the kitchen. She ached with a hollowness she’d never felt before and it caused her to lean against the frame to hold herself upright. It had been days since Vegeta, Goku, and Raditz left on their journey and she wondered if they were okay. Just as she was about to turn around and go back inside she saw a black swath of pointed hair approaching over the horizon followed by the taller forms of his companions.

 

Her feet moved before she could stop herself, it turned into a run as she collapsed in her prince’s arms. Warmth engulfed her as he lifted her up and placed a kiss on her lips. Nothing mattered except this moment, this wonderful reunion, and she heard commotion behind her but paid it no mind.

 

“I didn’t know what to do.” She admitted. “I didn’t want to think about you not coming back.”

 

“Hush.” He sighed and placed her on her feet. “None of that matters now. I’m home to stay.”

 

Bulma gave him a watery smile as he placed the necklace back around her neck. He looked into her eyes and then looked down at his feet.

 

“Frieza died a coward. All that talk of power, and rage, and he let himself grow soft.” He lifted up the tritan in his hand and then tapped the base on the ground. “His death was disappointing to me. However, at least all of the lives he took can now rest in peace.”

 

“Was there anyone left?”

 

“No. We are the last remaining mer. My race is no more. This is my home now.”

 

Her head tilted downward. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be.” He placed a hand beneath her chin and their eyes met. “This is where I’m meant to be.”

 

XXXXXXXxxxxxxxxx

 

Tights sighed as Raditz held her close, the sheets tangled around them. Their reunion had been hot, and wild, and long. Every part of her ached, deliciously so, and she leaned into his warmth. His muscled arm wrapped around her, her blonde hair strewn across his chest as he traced gentle patterns on her back.

 

“What happened?” She finally asked, breaking the silence.

 

“Frieza suffocated to death. It wasn’t the most fitting end, but he did not have a warriors death. He did not deserve it.” He growled in anger. “It seemed that once his army was taken from him he’d lost all the power he claimed to have. It was disgraceful.”

 

“What are you going to do now?”

 

“Live here with you.” He answered simply. “There are no more mer, and the sea is no longer my home. Sure, I’ll feel the need to swim every once in a while, but the dead must be left in peace.”

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Chi-Chi sighed. It was as if nothing had changed at all. Goku finished his huge meal, played a bit with Gohan, and then joined her for bed in the evening. It turned out that the battle had been of little challenge to Vegeta and he and Raditz took out the body guards. Honestly, none of that mattered, she was just happy her husband had come home to stay.

 

“Goku, honestly ...” She sighed as he pulled her close and chuckled a little.

 

“I told you not to worry, Chi-Chi.” He shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

 

“You know I’m going to. You’ve almost died on me at least four times before we could figure out what was wrong with you. Then, you have to leave after you finally get better. I had no idea if, or when, you’d come home.” She hid her face in his broad chest and smacked it with a closed fist. “You had no idea.”

 

“Well, I’m home now.” Goku gently grabbed her fist in his hand and smoothed it out. “No more worries.”

 

“You’re going to make me old and gray before my time.”

 

“Nah.”

 

Goku hugged her close and turned out the light with his free hand and cast their bedroom into darkness before shutting his eyes. It felt good to be home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXXxxxxxx

 

Eight Years Later

 

XXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxx

 

Bulma sighed and leaned back in her beach chair as she watched her son play in the sand, her toes twining into the warmth as the sun shined down on the blue water. Trunks was trying to build a sand castle and Goten giggled as he knocked down another part of it. Vegeta was off in the distance swimming around with the two other mer, stretching out their fins in their private plot of ocean.

 

Gohan was sitting next to Chi-Chi reading a book and Tights sat next to her holding her two year old little girl named Bito. How Raditz convinced her to name their child that, only Tights knew.

 

Bulma smiled as she got up and walked towards her husband. They had been officially married after Trunks’ birth and the sparkling ring on her finger glinted in the summer sun. Her blue eyes twinkled as her feet touched the cool water and as she walked forward, her legs shimmered away into a scaled lavender tail. She swam towards her prince and he welcomed her into his arms as they listed lazily around together.

 

She remembered the first time she did this. The day she wanted to finally experience what it was like.

 

XX

 

“ **Bulma, are you sure?”**

 

“ **Yes.” Her smile was warm and she stepped forward into the the water and placed her hand in his.**

 

**He touched his fingertip to the center of the pendant around her neck. She expected pain, but instead she only felt an electrical current surge through her body before cool water engulfed her. Bulma felt strange as she tested out her new body and swam around in the training pool beside her husband.**

 

**It was hours before she finally got the hang of it, she’d been surprised by how tired she felt after she sat down on the stairs leading out of the pool. Her body was human once more and she looked down at her feet before looking at her mer husband.**

 

“ **What happened?”**

 

“ **The pendant only changes you to resemble a mer. It doesn’t make you one. You still think like a human and try to swim like one.”**

 

“ **Yet I could breathe under water.” She stated.**

 

“ **Well, yes. That’s part of it. Mer couldn’t always change, but they could choose a human to mate. It wasn’t always males, either. The siren tale is true. The royal family used to be mostly female and there was a Queen, instead of a King. The female could lure a male sailor to the see and make him mer. Any offspring they had would be part mer, part man. Eventually, we gained the ability to walk on land and still be part of the sea.”**

 

XX

 

“What are you smiling about, woman?”

 

“Our first swim.” She chuckled as he shook his head.

 

“Sentimental woman.” They dove under together. “ _There will be plenty more days to come. Trunks will be swimming soon.”_

 

“ _He’s growing so fast.”_

 

“ _You worry too much.”_ Vegeta pulled her along as they made their way back to the beach. He sighed, a bit disgusted, as he watched Goten knock over Trunks’ hard work. He wondered when the lavender-haired boy would give up on Kakarot’s second spawn. He hated to admit that Gohan was turning into a decent mer. Even if his harpy mother was making him study too much.

 

Vegeta looked over at his mate once more as she sat down in her chair. She had a glow about her, something soft and beautiful as her skin shimmered in the setting sun. Her aqua eyes met his and he sat down beside her in the sand. Even though he’d lost everything, he felt more whole just sitting on this beach.

 

“I love you, Vegeta.”

 

He leaned against her then, his eyes watching the ocean waves as they crashed into the shore. “And I, you.”

 

\- End


End file.
